INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

HIV/AIDS

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what actions his Department is taking towards delivery of the 2010 target for universal access to antiretroviral treatment for HIV and AIDS agreed by the G8 at Gleneagles and confirmed at the UN World Summit.

Gareth Thomas: Together with UNAIDS we will co-chair a Global Steering Committee on Scaling Up Towards Universal Access, the first meeting will be held in January 2006 to plan the steps to achieve universal access. The Committee will deliver this plan to the high level UN General Assembly Special Session in June 2006.

HIV/AIDS

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to tackle HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

Gareth Thomas: Over the next three years the UK will spend at least £1.5 billion to implement the UK strategy Taking Action". This year, the UK has made AIDS a centrepiece of our G8 and EU presidencies, focusing on the importance of more and better aid for AIDS, maintaining HIV prevention momentum, and scaling up towards universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010.
	As EU President the UK hosted a high-level meeting that launched the EU Statement on HIV Prevention for an AIDS Free Generation. The UK will co-chair with UNAIDS, the Global Steering Committee on scaling up towards universal access to enhance international action to meet the G8 and World summit agreement on AIDS.

HIV/AIDS

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what action his Department has taken to ensure delivery of the 2010 target for universal access to antiretroviral treatment for HIV and AIDS agreed by the G8 at Gleneagles and confirmed at the UN World summit;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure delivery of the 2010 target for universal access to antiretroviral treatment for HIV and AIDS agreed by the G8 at Gleneagles and confirmed at the UN World summit.

Gareth Thomas: Gleneagles secured an important agreement
	to develop and implement a package for HIV prevention, treatment and care, with the aim of as close as possible to universal access to treatment for all those who need it by 2010"'
	Progress has been swift since Gleneagles. The universal access commitment was also agreed by members states at the Millennium summit in September. The UK convened a rapid follow-up meeting (2 September), bringing together members of the G8, developing countries, civil society, together with the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Bank and UNICEF to start mapping out how to deliver against the commitment.
	The 2 September meeting showed a strong, shared commitment to joint action and agreed that efforts must:
	be country-owned and country-led;
	develop a package which balances treatment, prevention and care—a comprehensive response is essential to achieve the ambitious 2010 goal;
	situate actions to achieve Universal Access in wider efforts to eradicate poverty, strengthening broader services, including health systems;
	involve all key players: civil society, private sector, donors and affected countries.
	UNAIDS have been tasked with co-ordinating efforts and have now set up a Global Steering Committee (GSC), co-chaired by the UK and UNAIDS. The GSC will meet for the first time in Washington DC on 9/10 January 2006 and is expected to report to the High level UN General Assembly Special Session in mid 2006.

HIV/AIDS

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to tackle HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

Gareth Thomas: The UK has made a strong commitment to tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world. Globally we are the second largest bilateral funder of AIDS-related activities. Last year saw the publication of the UK's Strategy Taking Action: The UK's strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world". This commits DFID to spending at least £1.5 billion over the next three years, to step up the international response to AIDS, including spending to at least £150 million to meet the needs of children affected by AIDS. This year, the UK has made AIDS a centrepiece of our G8 and EU presidencies, focusing on the importance of more and better aid for AIDS, maintaining HIV prevention momentum, and scaling up towards universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010, with the ultimate aim of achieving an AIDS-free generation.
	We secured a landmark agreement at Gleneagles
	to develop and implement a package for HIV prevention, treatment and care, with the aim of as close as possible to universal access to treatment for all those who need it by 2010."
	Progress has been swift since Gleneagles. The universal access commitment was also agreed by member states at the Millennium summit in September. The UK convened a rapid follow-up, bringing together members of the G8, developing countries, civil society, together with the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Trade Organistaion (WHO), the World Bank and UNICEF to start mapping out how to deliver against the commitment.
	UNAIDS have now set up a Global Steering Committee (GSC), co-chaired by the UK and UNAIDS. The GSC will meet for the first time on 9–10 January 2006 to discuss and prepare a plan of action to be considered at the high level UN General Assembly Special Session in June 2006.
	In September 2005, the UK hosted the third and final Replenishment conference for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, chaired by UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. The Secretary of State confirmed that the UK is doubling support for the global fund in 2006 and 2007 to £100 million in each of these two years. The UK's pledge amounted to 10 per cent. of the US $3.7 billion pledged to the global fund for the two-year period by international donor. The amount pledged by 29 donors represents more than half of the global fund's total resource needs for the two-year period.
	The global fund conference also addressed the context within which the global fund operates. These discussions built on the 'Three Ones' principles and the UK co-hosted 'Making the Money Work' meeting, which had established a global task team (GTT) to improve AIDS co-ordination among multilateral and international donors. As a result of the GTT, the UK expects significant improvements in how the UN and international donors such as the global fund work together to support countries develop and lead effective responses to AIDS. To support this work, the UK doubled our contributions to UNAIDS for the next two years.
	EU Ministers met in London on 30 November under the UK presidency, confirmed their commitment to increased prevention by issuing a statement on a vision for an AIDS free generation—the first pan-European pledge of its kind. The statement backs efforts to give people around the world better access to condoms and effective information. It advocates a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to HIV prevention including sexual and reproductive health information and services, harm reduction programmes for injecting drug users and reliable access to sexual reproductive health commodities.
	For World AIDS day, the UK also published a cross-governmental briefing paper on harm reduction: Tackling drug use and HIV in the developing world". This confirms the UK Government's commitment to harm reduction as an important part of the overall HIV prevention strategy in countries with serious HIV epidemics among injecting drug users, as well as in countries without serious HIV epidemics where harm reduction interventions help maintain low prevalence rates.
	As part of our commitment towards stepping up efforts on HIV prevention, DFID announced on World AIDS day (1 December) that it is giving an extra £20 million to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and £7.5 million to the International Programme on Microbicides. This re-affirms the UK's long-standing commitment to developing new prevention technologies, and brings our total investment in mircobicides to over £50 million.

G8 Commitments

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to implement the development commitments made at the G8 summit; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The Government attach considerable importance to seeing that the Gleneagles commitments are fully implemented.
	On Africa, we have already seen good progress on debt relief, tackling preventable diseases and HIV/AIDS, and promoting investment and infrastructure. But there is a great deal more still to do, so we are working closely with our G8 partners, other donors and African governments.

G8 Commitments

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how his Department intends to turn the commitments made at the G8 summit into action on development.

Hilary Benn: The Government attach considerable importance to seeing that the Gleneagles commitments are fully implemented.
	On Africa, we have already seen good progress on debt relief, tackling preventable diseases and HIV/AIDS, and promoting investment and infrastructure. But there is a great deal more still to do, so we are working closely with our G8 partners, other donors and African governments.

WTO Negotiations

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what development outcomes he aims to secure from the World Trade Organisation negotiations in Hong Kong.

Hilary Benn: The World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting being held next week in Hong Kong is an opportunity to make real progress on the Doha Development Round. We will be working hard to achieve the best possible result. We want an outcome which leads to global economic growth, including through better access to markets for developing countries, and in particular for the poorest nations in the world. We also want an outcome which reflects the Millennium Development Goals, and which allows the DDA to be completed during 2006.

Afghanistan

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: Afghanistan has made remarkable progress over the last four years and with strong commitment from the Government of Afghanistan and the international community has moved away from a predominantly humanitarian situation. To date 3.5 million refugees have returned home, the number of functioning health clinics has increased by 60 per cent., and over 5 million children are now in school. Many Afghans however remain vulnerable. During the winter in particular many suffer the effects of nature, lacking basic elements of protection. The Government of Afghanistan have begun contingency planning and drawn up a work plan to help minimize the impact of this winter upon the most vulnerable through the provision of basic relief supplies. In line with Afghanistan's needs, DFID's support has evolved from a humanitarian focus to supporting the Government in creating the conditions for sustainable development and poverty reduction.

Afghanistan

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent in the re-building of the infrastructure in Afghanistan in each year since 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Since 2002, DFID has committed £35 million in support of the development of infrastructure in Afghanistan: £17 million of support through the National Solidarity Programme for small scale rural infrastructure; and £18 million to the National Rural Access Programme for roads construction and maintenance. Of this, £3 million was spent in 2004–05, £27 million will be spent in 2005–06 and £5 million is planned to be spent in 2006–07. Support to larger scale infrastructure is not a major focus of DFID's programme: we believe other donors are better placed to do it than DFID.

Latin America

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's funding for Latin America in 2005–06.

Gareth Thomas: DFID expects to provide £10.3 million to Latin America in 2005–06 through its bilateral programme and £36 million through centrally funded activities. In addition, DFID contributes to the expenditure of multilateral organisations in the region (£91 million in 2003, the last year for which data are available).
	DFID's Regional Assistance Plan for Latin America 2004–07 sets the framework for its bilateral programme involvement in the region (copies are available in the Libraries of the House). Funding in 2005–06 comprises of regional programmes (£3.5 million) to tackle regional issues such as HIV/AIDS and to improve the impact of the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank on poverty; and bilateral programmes in Nicaragua (£3.8 million), Bolivia (£1.5 million) and Brazil (£1.5 million). Programmes in Bolivia and Brazil are in their final year.
	DFID centrally funded activities benefiting Latin America in 2005–06 include over £10 million for UK non-governmental organisations (NGOs) through the Civil Society Challenge Fund and the additional regional allocation for six Partnership Programme Arrangement NGOs; at least £1 million of research programmes; debt relief of £23 million; humanitarian relief of £250,000; and co-financing of the Global Conflict Reduction Pool (a total of £1.8 million from all Government Departments ).

Gaza

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to assist the Palestinian Authority to reopen the airport at Gaza.

Hilary Benn: The Government fully supports the work of the Quartet Special Envoy, James Wolfensohn, to ensure that Israeli Disengagement is a success. Mr. Wolfensohn has identified six priority areas for joint Israeli and Palestinian work on movement and access, which include the construction of an airport for Gaza. We welcome the 15 November agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel and their commitment to continuing discussions about restoring the airport. To lend support, the UK has seconded two experts to the Special Envoy's team to help move forward progress on Gaza disengagement.

Africa

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to improve food (a) productivity and (b) security in Africa on a sustainable basis.

Hilary Benn: DFID has always recognised the importance of agriculture to reducing poverty. A new DFID agricultural policy paper will be launched on shortly which will set out how we will do more and improve the benefits to poor people.
	Examples of current support include:
	Agricultural research to develop new technologies. We currently spend some £25 million per year on this.
	Expansion of infrastructure to link producers to markets. Three out of five rural Africans live in areas with good agricultural potential but little access to markets. For example, we are providing $20 million to the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, which will enable G8 and multilateral donors make more effective infrastructure investments.
	Increasing public expenditure on agriculture and rural development such as crop and livestock services through support to Governments' central and agricultural budgets.
	DFID has responded quickly to address hunger in the immediate term in Africa. This year we have provided £64 million through the UN, other agencies and some of the Governments in the region. Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia are the worst-affected countries, although Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland also face shortages.
	DFID is also helping to build longer term food security. For example, we are currently supporting a programme for 5 million people affected by chronic hunger in Ethiopia with £25 million per year. This programme provides regular payments of cash and food to 5 million chronically hungry people. This meets their immediate food needs but is also designed to help them climb out of poverty in the longer term, as it allows them to become more productive by purchasing assets such as seeds, goats or oxen, knowing they will still have a safety net in times of crisis. DFID proposes to scale up this national safety net approach for those affected by hunger in Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho, and Kenya over the next year.

Asian Tsunami

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent progress has been made in the relief effort for the areas affected by the Asian tsunami of December 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The relief phase of the response has ended, and the international community is now supporting the affected Governments as they work towards the longer-term recovery and reconstruction of affected areas.
	The UK allocated £75 million for the immediate humanitarian relief effort following the tsunami. A total of £68.7 million of this has been committed, while the remainder has been set aside for disaster risk reduction projects.
	DFID allocated £65 million to meet reconstruction needs in the tsunami affected countries. From this allocation £31 million has been committed to the Multi Donor Trust Fund in Indonesia, of which £6 million has so far been paid out. A further £5 million has been committed for technical assistance in Indonesia to help ensure timely, accountable and equitable provision of reconstruction assistance and rebuilding of livelihoods. A total of £2 million has been committed to Sri Lanka to help speed up implementation of reconstruction programmes and to ensure equitable distribution of assistance, and £1.5 million of this has been allocated to the North East Provincial Council to increase their capacity to deliver services to affected communities.
	A total of £3 million has been committed to India to provide technical assistance aimed at ensuring effective, transparent and equitable programming of tsunami reconstruction efforts. The use of the balance will depend on evidence of where this funding can be most appropriately used.

Bilateral Aid

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of his Department's spending on bilateral aid has been allocated to (a) Africa, (b) Sub-Saharan Africa, (c) Iraq and (d) Afghanistan in each year since 1997.

Hilary Benn: Details of DFID's spending on bilateral aid to Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan in each financial year since 1997 are set out in the following table along with the proportion that each represents of DFID's bilateral aid programme.
	
		Bilateral aid to Africa, South of Sahara, Afghanistan and Iraq: 1997–98–2004–05
		
			   £ 000 As a percentage of total DFID bilateral aid 
		
		
			 Africa   
			 1997–98 345,013 33.09 
			 1998–99 445,966 38.39 
			 1999–2000 493,779 37.12 
			 2000–01 641,951 45.62 
			 2001–02 575,912 38.10 
			 2002–03 736,425 41.11 
			 2003–04 710,820 36.25 
			 2004–05 867,477 40.45 
			
			 Of which:   
			 South of Sahara   
			 1997–98 332,793 31.92 
			 1998–99 432,290 37.21 
			 1999–2000 484,083 36.39 
			 2000–01 626,024 44.49 
			 2001–02 532,506 35.23 
			 2002–03 699,759 39.06 
			 2003–04 671,584 34.25 
			 2004–05 825,228 38.48 
			 Iraq   
			 1997–98 3,351 0.32 
			 1998–99 5,749 0.49 
			 1999–2000 6,585 0.50 
			 2000–01 9,545 0.68 
			 2001–02 7,760 0.51 
			 2002–03 18,853 1.05 
			 2003–04 209,313 10.68 
			 2004–05 49,107 2.29 
			
			 Afghanistan   
			 1997–98 6,873 0.66 
			 1998–99 3,873 0.33 
			 1999–2000 5,262 0.40 
			 2000–01 7,047 0.50 
			 2001–02 49,996 3.31 
			 2002–03 74,546 4.16 
			 2003–04 79,683 4.06 
			 2004–05 79,589 3.71 
		
	
	Source:
	Statistics on International Development

Commonwealth Development Corporation

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total amount of compensation paid to (a) UK and (b) foreign employees of CDC/the Commonwealth Development Corporation has been since 1997; if he will list the cases concerned; and how much was awarded in each case.

Hilary Benn: There were four deaths of Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) employees in service during this period, all due to medical conditions. They received normal death-in-service payments of four times their salary, spouse pension and child allowance where appropriate. There were five medical retirements of CDC employees during the period, who received accelerated medical pensions from the CDC pension scheme. The exact details of these cases are confidential.
	One employee left the CDC with a stress related illness and received a compensation payment of £10,300.

Commonwealth Development Corporation

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the team-building exercises undertaken by CDC/the Commonwealth Development Corporation since 1997; and what the cost was of each such exercise.

Hilary Benn: I refer the member for Hemel Hempstead to the reply given on 4 October 2004, Official Report, column 1775W.
	Information prior to 2002, covering the former Commonwealth Development Corporation from 1997 to 1999, and CDC Group plc since 1999, is not readily available. There has been no expenditure on team-building by the CDC since June 2004.

Departmental Expenditure

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Department and its agencies have spent on (a) the design and production of new logos and (b) employing external (i) public relations and (ii) graphic design agencies in each year since 2000, broken down by project.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has spent nothing on the design and production of new logos; or on public relations in the years in question. Spending on graphic design agencies are as follows:
	
		£
		
			  2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Booklets 156,087 866,305 140,033 
			 Departmental report 83,439 54,566 58,180 
			 Posters 905 1,679 — 
			 Developments magazine 283,285 314,454 288,835 
			 Web — 2,406 — 
			 Total 523,716 1,239,410 487,048 
		
	
	Owing to changes in the DFID accounting system figures for the years 2000–01 to 2002–03 could be extracted only by incurring a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Projects

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many projects his Department is engaged in; in which developing countries; and at what total cost.

Hilary Benn: DFID's Performance Reporting Information System for Management (PRISM) contains details of our current portfolio of projects and programmes. There are currently over 3,300 projects/programmes shown as operational on the system. The total commitment value of these projects/programmes is £9 billion.
	Within the portfolio we have projects/programmes operational in 130 countries. There are also a number of projects/programmes focused on regions and in some cases these will benefit countries not included above.
	Note
	The figures given exclude core funding provided by DFID to multilateral agencies.
	Information on the amount of money spent in different countries by year can be found in DFID's annual publication 'Statistics on International Development'. The 2005 edition was published in October and is available from DFID's website address at: www.dfid.gov.uk and in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Tendering Policy

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on including (a) ethical and (b) environmental factors in tenders for services.

Gareth Thomas: DFID expects to let all its contracts in accordance with ethical principles, and would consider any case where evidence to the contrary was presented. All DFID initiatives over £1 million are automatically subject to environmental screening processes. DFID purchasing staff and procurement agents are required to follow DFID's environmental procurement policy, which is in line with UK policy on sustainable procurement.

Free Trade

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to promote free trade; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government are committed to the development of an open and rules-based international trading system that fulfils its potential to contribute to the reduction of poverty in poorer countries. Our key policy commitments on trade and development, as well as our objectives for the current Round of multilateral trade talks, are set out in the Government's White Papers, Making Globalisation a Force for Good (July 2004) and Eliminating World Poverty: Making Globalisation Work for the Poor (December 2000). The UK Government are working hard to support the poorest and most vulnerable producers, be it through multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) or regional trade agreements such as the Economic Partnership Agreements.
	The UK Government do not support forced liberalisation or unfettered free trade but trade that is fair as well as free. The UK Government supports the view that developing countries need to decide on the timing, pace and sequencing of any market opening in line with their own national development and poverty reduction plans. In the context of the WTO negotiations we are firmly committed to ensuring that developing countries are given appropriate flexibility to adjust to trade reforms.
	In the longterm, the removal of trade barriers, if managed properly, can help developing countries gain better access to developed country markets and more competitively priced inputs. By increasing Aid for Trade, (AFT) the UK hopes to help poorer countries seize the opportunities presented by more open markets. DFID will treble its support to £100 million a year by 2010 to help boost poor countries' capacity to trade. This shows the UK re-affirming the commitment at the G8 summit to help developing countries trade their way out of poverty.
	At the WTO ministerial in Hong Kong we are working with international partners to deliver on the ambition of Doha and build on G8 commitments. The UK Government are working to achieve an outcome that delivers real gains for developing countries, including the poorest.

Global Fund

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with his G8 colleagues about funding for the Global Fund since the London conference on 5 and 6 September 2005, what assessment he has made about the level of money pledged to the Global Funds as a result of the London conference; what firm pledges have been received from donor countries to the Global Fund who were unable to make commitments at the London conference; and if he will make a statement on the UK's commitment to the Global Fund.

Gareth Thomas: Since the London Replenishment Conference for the Global Fund, the UK has continued discussions with G8 partners, through G8 officials' meetings, to ensure that the Gleneagles commitment to the Global Fund is met. We will also re-double our efforts to make Global Fund resources work better and demonstrate good results. This is crucial if the Global Fund is to widen its funding base and achieve the longer term sustainability it needs.
	At the London conference, donors pledged US$ 3.7 billion for the two-year period 2006–2007, more than half the estimated US $7 billion needed to replenish the Global Fund for this period. This is a significant achievement which has enabled all existing Global Fund projects to continue plus provided funding for a small number of new projects. The Replenishment conference also focused on improving the Global Fund performance at global and country level. To make the Global Fund's money work effectively, the UK also pledged at the Replenishment conference, to double our contribution to the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) from £8 million to £16 million for the financial year 2005–6. Replenishment of the Global Fund is an on-going process. A follow-up Conference will be held in June 2006 to secure additional pledges.
	Donors who were unable to make pledges at the London conference (due to their funding cycles) included Canada, the US and the EC. Since the conference, Canada announced a firm pledge of Can$ 250 million (around US$ 213 million) (this was included in the US$ 3.7 billion pledging figure). The US House and Senate Conference Committee have now approved US$ 450 million for the Global Fund for 2006. This is US$150 million more than was anticipated in London. In addition, the US may appropriate more through the forthcoming Health and Human Services Bill. The European Commission's 2006 budget is still being finalised and the Financial Perspectives governing the budget from 2007 are yet to be agreed. Currently the European Union (including the Commission and members states) has pledged almost 60 per cent. of the commitments made at the conference to the Global Fund's finances for 2006 and 2007.
	At the Replenishment Conference, the UK doubled its funding to the Global Fund from £51 million for 2006 and £51 million in 2007, to £100 million for 2006 and £100 million for 2007. Our contribution amounted to some 10 per cent. of the total US$3.7 billion pledged. Overall the UK has pledged 359 million (US$ 640 million) to the Global Fund over seven years (2002–08). DFID will continue to encourage donors to do as much as they can to substantially increase their contributions to the Global Fund.

Global Tariffs

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likely implications for developing countries of President Bush's recent comments on reducing global tariffs.

Gareth Thomas: DFID would welcome moves to reduce tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to the free flow of goods and services. The UK has made assessments based on studies from the World Bank, the United Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that suggest substantial gains for developing countries resulting from developed country liberalisation of agricultural and industrial trade. Of course, the level of gains for developing countries depends on the level of reform in developed country agriculture policies and liberalisation efforts undertaken by developing countries themselves. If the current round of trade talks are really to deliver their Development objectives, then clearly, as the Prime Minister has said, all sides need to move further and allow poor countries to trade their way out of poverty.

Humanitarian/Reconstruction Assistance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of his Department's spending has been allocated to humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in (a) Africa, (b) Sub-Saharan Africa, (c) Iraq and (d) Afghanistan in each year since 1997.

Hilary Benn: The amounts and proportion of DFID spending allocated to humanitarian assistance in Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan are shown in the table.
	DFID does not centrally track specific expenditure on reconstruction assistance. It would incur a disproportionate cost for all country offices to undertake this analysis.
	
		
			  Humanitarian assistance (£000) Total bilateral DFID spend (£000) Proportion of spend as humanitarian assistance (percentage) 
		
		
			 (a) Africa
			 1997–98 24,195 345,013 7 
			 1998–99 46,251 445,966 10 
			 1999–2000 32,001 493,779 6 
			 2000–01 65,010 641,951 10 
			 2001–02 44,218 575,912 8 
			 2002–03 155,096 736,425 21 
			 2003–04 124,188 710,820 17 
			 2004–05 172,659 867,477 20 
			 
			 (b) Sub-Saharan Africa  
			 1997–98 23,952 332,793 7 
			 1998–99 45,913 432,290 11 
			 1999–2000 31,558 484,083 7 
			 2000–01 59,208 626,024 9 
			 2001–02 43,656 532,506 8 
			 2002–03 154,352 699,759 22 
			 2003–04 122,429 671,584 18 
			 2004–05 170,727 825,228 21 
			 
			 (c) Afghanistan
			 1997–98 6,685 6,873 97 
			 1998–99 2,579 3,873 67 
			 1999–2000 4,917 5,262 93 
			 2000–01 6,563 7,047 93 
			 2001–02 49,943 49,996 100 
			 2002–03 44,219 74,546 59 
			 2003–04 10,385 79,683 13 
			 2004–05 7,067 79,589 9 
			 
			 (d) Iraq
			 1997–98 3,351 3,351 100 
			 1998–99 5,749 5,749 100 
			 1999–2000 6,585 6,585 100 
			 2000–01 9,545 9,545 100 
			 2001–02 7,760 7,760 100 
			 2002–03 18,853 18,853 100 
			 2003–04 110,052 209,313 53 
			 2004–05 21,383 49,107 44

Maladministration

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many payments for maladministration have been made by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies, (c) its non-departmental public bodies and (d) other bodies for which his Department has responsibility in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: It is the policy of DFID to make financial redress for maladministration in accordance with the guidance set out in Chapter 18.7 and Annexes 18.1 and 18.2 of Government Accounting.
	The number of payments made by DFID in each of the last five years is set out in the following table. It should be noted that of these cases, over the five year period, only six related to DFID operation, the remaining majority related to payments to pensioners and dependants through the Overseas Superannuation Department:
	
		
			 DFID 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Department 4 21 6 7 12 
			 Agencies(1) — — — — — 
			 NDPBs(1) — — — — — 
			 Bodies sponsored by Department(1) — — — — — 
		
	
	(1) DFID has no agencies, non-departmental public bodies, or other bodies for which it has responsibility, to be included in this report.

Malawi

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the UK has taken (a) to respond to (i) the food shortages and (ii) other humanitarian needs in Malawi and (b) prevent further food crisis in the country in 2006.

Hilary Benn: The UK Government have contributed £18.2 million to address Malawi's food shortages this year. These funds will pay for around 55,000 tons of maize with pulses and oil to provide a balanced diet. This food will be distributed with the help of non-governmental organisations on the ground to poor people whose harvests have failed and who do not have money to buy food. Our funds also paid options for the Government of Malawi on a further 60,000 tons of maize, the purchase of seeds for the harvest in 2006 and Government capacity building, including financing a logistics unit to distribute food on behalf of the Government.
	On other humanitarian requirements, the UK Government are providing support to UNICEF for the treatment of severely malnourished children. In addition, the £100 million that the UK Government are contributing to the health sector over six years is helping to address related health problems, such as cholera 'outbreaks, which have been dealt with successfully.
	The prospects for food production in 2006 depend principally on the weather, for which the long-term forecasts are encouraging. The UK and other donors are meeting with the Government of Malawi on 7 and 8 December to examine the effectiveness of existing policies for agriculture and safety nets and to identify new approaches that will be more effective in addressing the underlying problems through faster growth and better support to reduce chronic problems of hunger.

Millennium Development Goals

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2005, Official Report, column 473W, on the Millennium Development Goals, by how much each of the targets are likely to be achieved or missed.

Gareth Thomas: Globally, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets for reducing extreme poverty by half, for equal enrolment of girls and boys in primary school, and for halving the proportion of people without access to improved drinking water are on track to be met by 2015.
	The target to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS is off track.
	Progress towards the other targets is reported as 'lagging' by the United Nations Statistics Division. Progress is being made, but not fast enough to reach the targets by 2015.
	For all the goals, progress is varied across the globe. Sub-Saharan Africa is not on track to meet any of the goals. The number of people living on less than $1 a day in Sub-Saharan Africa increased from 227 million in 1990, to 313 million in 2001, while numbers decreased from 936 million to 703 million in Asia, due to sustained growth in China and acceleration of the economy in India.

Pakistan

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government have taken to hasten the release of aid containers for the areas affected by earthquake from retention by Pakistani customs.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is not aware of any widespread concerns about aid being held up, although we are aware that a consignment from an Irish non-governmental organisation has been held up during the customs clearance process. The United Nations are supporting the organisation concerned in approaching the Pakistan authorities to have the supplies cleared.

Race Equality Impact Assessments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many Race Equality Impact Assessments his Department completed between (a) April 2004 and March 2005 and (b) April 2005 and November 2005; and how many assessments in each period resulted in a change of policy.

Gareth Thomas: The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of race equality impact assessments How many resulted in a change of policy 
		
		
			 April 2004 to March 2005 0 0 
			 April 2005 to November 2005 1 (2)0 
		
	
	(2) Impact assessment currently underway—outcome still uncertain.

Sick Leave

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State forInternational Development how many of his Department's employees who are within one year of the official retirement age are on extended sick leave.

Gareth Thomas: None of DFID's employees who are within one year of the official retirement age are on extended sick leave. The official retirement age within DFID is 60, although staff may choose to serve on until age 65, subject to continued capability and satisfactory service. My Department is committed to managing sickness absence effectively and to putting in place the recommendations of the 2004 Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector" report to reduce long-term sickness absence.

St. Helena

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the expenditure by the UK Government on conservation of St. Helena's biodiversity has been in each year since 1997.

Gareth Thomas: DFID does not keep statistics that separate out conservation of biodiversity from other conservation work on St. Helena.
	DFID provides St. Helena with funding through both direct budget support (to fund the budget deficit) and through development aid projects. St. Helena Government's expenditure in each financial year on conservation is shown in the following table, and this includes DFID funding in the form of direct budget support.
	
		£
		
			  St. Helena Government conservation budget 
		
		
			 1997–98 67,614 
			 1998–99 68,821 
			 1999–2000 66,977 
			 2000–01 70,323 
			 2001–02 69,373 
			 2002–03 72,893 
			 2003–04 76,818 
			 2004–05 75,090 
		
	
	In addition, the joint DFID/FCO Overseas Territories Environment Programme (total budget £1.5 million over three years), a development aid project that covers all the UK Overseas Territories, spent £67,311 in 2004–05 and £41,000 in the current financial year on projects in St. Helena.
	A number of development aid infrastructure projects funded by DFID on the island also contribute directly and indirectly to the conservation of the island's biodiversity: the Drip Irrigation Project (£198,000 over three years) and Water Development Phase II Project (£1.25 million over five years) being good examples. The development aid programme has also included projects on forestry, water catchment, fishing, flora conservation and rodent control during the period.
	St. Helena has also received modest amounts of financial support for conservation from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Environmental Fund, the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Many activities under a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Tourism Project also involve aspects of conservation.

Trade Barriers

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to encourage the EU to reform its agricultural policies to remove the trade barriers affecting developing countries.

Gareth Thomas: The Government acknowledges the damaging impact that dumping and trade-distorting subsidies have on developing countries, particularly on their agriculture sectors. We fully support the commitment made at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha ministerial meeting in 2001, which agreed that agriculture negotiations would aim to achieve: substantial improvements in market access; reductions of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies; and substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support.
	The package of reforms to the EU's common agricultural policy (CAP) agreed in June 2003 and May 2004 mark a significant shift in the EU's agricultural policy. The de-coupling of subsidies from production should connect European farmers much more closely to the market and have real impacts on reducing excessive production, which harms developing countries. The Government will continue to be at the forefront of those pushing for further reform of the EU's agricultural policy and I welcome the fact that the EU Commission has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the EU plays a full and constructive role in the WTO agriculture negotiations. I also welcome the commitment in the WTO to agree to set an end date for all export supports.
	The Doha Development Agenda and specifically the WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong represent an important opportunity to make a significant contribution to reducing global poverty. The UK Government are working to achieve an outcome that delivers real gains for developing countries, including the poorest. These gains should include improved participation by developing countries in the world trading system, through substantially increased market access for developing countries and the dismantling of trade-distorting agricultural subsidies by industrialised countries.

UN Population Fund

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) males and (b) females are employed by the United Nations Population Fund in India; and what their core duties are.

Gareth Thomas: DFID does not provide funding in country to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and as such does not have any influence on or knowledge of the numbers of staff it has. This question should therefore more appropriately be addressed to the UNFPA in India directly.

UN Population Fund

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the United Nations Population Fund is involved in sex selection abortions in India; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Sex selection abortions are illegal in India. The Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act and Rules 1994 (amended 2002) prohibit sex selection by any means, before or after conception.
	The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in India has a mandate to promote gender equality and to address practices that harm women. As such the UNFPA is working closely with the Government of India to support them in implementing the Prohibition of Sex Selection Act.
	The UNFPA's support takes the form of public advocacy campaigns targeted at policy-makers and the public in order to raise awareness of gender imbalance across India as a result of illegal sex selection practices. The UNFPA has been intensifying its awareness-raising efforts recently to include the media and entertainment industries.
	Further information on UNFPA's work on this issue in India can be obtained by contacting them directly: www.unfpa.org

PRIME MINISTER

Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Prime Minister when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Brent East dated 7 July on behalf of Ms Susan Llewellyn.

Tony Blair: My Office has informed the office of the hon. Member that the letter has not been received.

Departmental Tendering Policy

Martin Horwood: To ask the Prime Minister what his policy is on including (a) ethical and (b) environmental factors in tenders for his Office's services.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 6 December 2005, Official Report, column 1128W by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Jim Murphy).

Donated Asset Reserve

John Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the 20 most expensive gifts he has received which are held as part of the donated asset reserve.

Tony Blair: The Government has published an annual list of gifts received by Ministers in an official capacity valued at more than £140 since 2001. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. The list makes clear which gifts are held by Government Departments.

Meetings

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Prime Minister when he last met the Prime Minister of Canada; and what was discussed.

Tony Blair: I last met the Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin, at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July. We discussed a wide range of issues including those on the G8 agenda: Africa, climate change and the Middle East Peace Process. For further details I refer my hon. Friend to the No. 10 website.
	I also held a video-conference with the Canadian Prime Minister, in my capacity as presidency of the European Union, on 24 November. We discussed a range of issues including the Canada/EU strategic partnership. I refer my hon. Friend to the joint statement made after the conference. This is available on the No. 10 website.

Ministerial Pensions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the value of his ministerial pension is expected to be at the end of (a) November 2005, (b) December 2005 and (c) December 2006; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the total cost of contributions to his ministerial pension has been since 1997;
	(3)  how much from public funds has been used to fund his ministerial pension in each month since 1997.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 3 November 2005, Official Report, column 1245W.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Corporate Responsibility

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her policies to promote corporate responsibility.

Elliot Morley: The Department for Trade and Industry has primary responsibility for corporate responsibility issues.
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) works to improve the UK's environmental performance, including that of UK business. This is a particularly important theme of DEFRA's strategic priority on sustainable consumption and production.
	On the narrower issue of corporate responsibility, we will shortly publish Environmental Key Performance Indicators: Reporting Guidelines for UK Business". These guidelines will assist companies in fulfilling their obligations for an enhanced business review under the EU accounts modernisation directive, and in producing sustainability, corporate responsibility or environmental reports.
	DEFRA also promotes robust and credible environmental management systems (EMSs). In September 2005, we published a position statement setting out the qualities of a good EMS, and the steps Government are taking to encourage wider take up of these.

GM Crops

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the latest advice being offered by the Department is on separation distances between genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crops.

Elliot Morley: No GM crops are currently being grown in the UK. We will issue a consultation paper in due course on proposals to manage the co-existence of GM and non-GM crops. This will include proposed separation distances reflecting the latest scientific evidence.

Opinion Polls

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) subject matter and (b) dates were of opinion survey research undertaken by the Department since its inception; if she will place copies of the results of each survey in the Library; which companies were used in conducting the research; and how much each was paid.

Jim Knight: Since inception, Defra's Communications Directorate has commissioned an omnibus tracking survey to measure public awareness of DEFRA, knowledge of its responsibilities and opinions on its performance.
	Surveys conducted as follows;
	
		
			 Date Company Cost (£) 
		
		
			 February 2002 Taylor Nelson Sofres 42,000 
			 April 2004 Taylor Nelson Sofres 14,950 
			 October 2005 Taylor Nelson Sofres 26,000 
		
	
	Copies of all three surveys will be available in the Library.

River Beds (Ownership)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the ownership status of a river bed is where both banks are in private ownership.

Elliot Morley: A riparian owner (a landowner with a frontage along a watercourse) is presumed to own the land up to the centre of the watercourse, unless it is known to be owned by others. If the watercourse flows through land where the owner owns both banks, then the presumption will be that that the owner owns the whole of the bed.
	The presumption may be displaced by actual proof that the riparian owner does not own the bed. This may occur when the land adjoining the watercourse has been sold without the vendor conveying his part of the bed as a result of an oversight in conveyancing. Sometimes the bed itself may be bought separately from the adjoining land, perhaps to allow access by boat to other land owned by the purchaser. In other cases the ownership of the bed is vested in, for example, the navigation authority by a local Act of Parliament in order to give control over the use of the river.

School Milk

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why the Rural Payments Agency's inspection report on the operation of the school milk subsidy scheme on the Isle of Wight has not been published; and if she will place a copy in the Library.

Jim Knight: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is dealing with a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act from the Dairy Products Champion for the south east region, which includes making available the inspection report of the school milk subsidy scheme on the Isle of Wight. The report will be made available in the next few days.
	A copy of the report will be placed in the Library of the House.

SSSI Sites (Stroud)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list sites of special scientific interest in Stroud constituency.

Jim Knight: There are 25 sites of special scientific interest in the Stroud constituency. Details of those sites are set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Site Area in Stroud constituency (ha) 
		
		
			 Box Farm Meadows 8.29 
			 Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill 40.51 
			 Coaley Wood Quarries 4.96 
			 Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods 518.05 
			 Daneway Banks 16.95 
			 Easter Park Farm Quarry 0.14 
			 Edge Common 20.94 
			 Frampton Pools 60.60 
			 Haresfield Beacon 0.80 
			 Hucclecote Meadows 2.39 
			 Kingscote and Horsley Woods 14.64 
			 Minchinhampton Common 193.98 
			 Nibley Knoll 3.05 
			 Purton Passage 4.79 
			 Range Farm Fields 12.97 
			 Rodborough Common 109.54 
			 Rough Bank, Miserden 9.14 
			 Selsley Common 39.87 
			 Severn Estuary 644.68 
			 Stinchcombe Hill 25.72 
			 Strawberry Banks 5.08 
			 Swift's Hill 9.48 
			 Upper Severn Estuary 822.35 
			 Woodchester Park 220.90 
			 Wotton Hill 5.66 
			 Total area (ha): 2795.50

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Company Boards

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps she is taking to assist women in reaching more senior positions on company boards.

Meg Munn: Government take improving board effectiveness very seriously and that's why it is vital to encourage more women into the senior roles and ultimately, top executive positions. This year's female FTSE 100 report revealed that 78 FTSE 100 companies now have women directors, up 13 per cent. from last year.
	However, there is still more work to be done which is why Government support initiatives such as the FTSE 100 cross company mentoring scheme—'Women Directors on Boards', which is backed by 29 Chairman and CEOs.
	"Building Better Boards", published by the DTI one year ago, spells out the business case for diversity and the different ways in which companies can recruit and develop and a wider range of talent.

Non-working Mothers

Peter Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what measures the Government propose to take to encourage women to stay at home and look after their children rather than returning to work.

Meg Munn: Parents are the best people to make decisions about the interests of their children. The Government's role is to support families and to ensure they have meaningful choices about how they live their lives. The core aim of the Work and Families Bill is about helping to give children the best start in life and how to enable all families to have genuine choices about how they balance their work and family caring responsibilities.
	The 2005 budget announced a commitment to increase the child element of child tax credit at least in line with average earnings up to and including 2007–08. It is currently worth up to £1,690 a year per child, benefiting 7 million children in 3.6 million families.

Pension Inequality

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent steps the Government have taken to tackle women's pension inequality.

Meg Munn: The Department for Work and pensions published a report entitled 'Women and pensions: The evidence' in November. This will inform the ongoing National Pensions Debate.
	The Pensions commission published their report on 30 November 2005, and we will wish to analyse the evidence and consider the options and recommendations put forward by the commission and involve every section of our community as we work towards the publication of a White Paper in the spring.
	This will help us to build on the achievements we have already made in lifting £1.9 million pensioners out of absolute low income 1.3 million of whom are women.

Student Loans

James McGovern: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality whether the provision of student loans for postgraduate students will be covered by the clauses of the Equality Bill on age discrimination.

Meg Munn: holding answer 2 December 2005
	There are currently no clauses in the Equality Bill on age discrimination. Age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services is currently being considered as part of the Discrimination Law Review, announced in February. We expect to publish a Green Paper in late spring 2006.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Departmental Finance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the real terms percentage increase in allocated resources for his Department (a) was for the period 1997–98 to 2004–05 and (b) is estimated to be between 2005–06 and 2007–08 (i) for each period and (ii) for each year.

Alan Johnson: The information requested is as follows.
	(a) The real terms percentage increase in allocated resources for the Department of Trade and Industry for period 1997–98 to 2004–05 was 5 per cent.
	(b) The estimated real terms increase in allocated resources for the Department of Trade and Industry between 2005–06 and 2007–08:
	(i) is estimated to be 3 per cent. on average over the period 2005 to 2008; and
	(ii) for each year is estimated to be a 7 per cent. increase in 2005–06 over 2004–05, a 1 per cent. increase in 2006–07 over 2005–06 and a 2 per cent. increase in 2007–08 over 2006–07.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff in his Department have been relocated into London and the South East in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Alan Johnson: The Department does not hold records on staff that have been relocated into London and the South East in each of the last five years. Following the Lyons Review of Public Sector Relocation and the Spending Review 2004 the Government set Departments targets to relocate 20,000 posts from London and the South East by 2010. The Department has committed to relocate 685 posts by 2010 and 194 posts had been relocated by end October 2005.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to relocate staff in his Department and related agencies into London and the South East.

Alan Johnson: The Department has no plans to relocate staff in the Department and related agencies into London and the South East. Following the Lyons Review of Public Sector Relocation and the Spending Review 2004, the Government set Departments targets to relocate 20,000 posts from London and the South East by 2010. The Department has committed to relocate 685 posts by 2010 and 194 of these posts had been relocated by end of October 2005.

Doha Trade Talks

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recommendations he will be proposing on agricultural tariffs to the Doha trade round talks in Hong Kong.

Ian Pearson: The Government's long-term goal is to abolish progressively all barriers to agricultural trade in the forms of both tariffs and quotas. The Government aims to take an important step towards this goal through the Doha Development Agenda.
	The European Commission negotiates in the World Trade Organisation on behalf of the European Union's 25 member states, within the parameters of a negotiating mandate laid out in a succession of council conclusions.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many investigations into companies have been undertaken by the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) in each of the last five years; and what steps the ECGD takes following an allegation of corruption or bribery against a company to which it has provided guarantee support.

Ian Pearson: ECGD makes Inquiries appropriate to each case before providing support for a transaction. ECGD reports any allegations of wrongdoing, or other suspicious circumstances which come to its attention, to the appropriate investigatory authorities, where a decision can be made regarding investigation by the appropriate criminal investigative bodies. ECGD has made enquiries in two instances, in 2003–4 and 2004–5, where companies have been convicted or admitted to bribery.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many export credit guarantees have been entered into by subsidiaries of Halliburton since 2004; what the terms were of the deals for each of these guarantees; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 22 February 2005, Official Report, column 556W. ECGD has not provided any guarantees for subsidiaries of Halliburton since 2004.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for which transactions related to agent's commissions the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) requested an independent value for money check in each of the last 10 years; which countries were involved in each such transaction; what the value of each of the relevant contracts was; which exporters were involved in the transactions; and what conclusion the ECGD reached in each case.

Ian Pearson: ECGD does not carry out independent value for money checks of the amount of agent's commission. Where there is agent's commission payable, in respect of transactions for which ECGD support is being requested, the Department has a system in place for checking the legality of any such agent's commission and whether the amounts involved conform with normal market practice in the country concerned. ECGD also reserves the right to ask further questions of the exporter if the level of the agent's commission appears excessive compared to the services being provided.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the sum is of Nigeria's debt to the UK Export Credits Guarantee Department which is scheduled to be removed by arrears payments and buy-backs by Nigeria and cancellation by the Government by April 2006; what the purpose of the loans was; and who the original lenders were.

Ian Pearson: The total debt owed to ECGD by Nigeria, which is the subject of the latest debt agreement, is £3.4 billion plus US$1.8 billion.
	The majority of this debt, relating to a number of large capital goods contracts and diverse smaller, short-term business, accrued during the 1980s debt crisis. Because it arose from ECGD support for many thousands of contracts and hundreds of exporters, details about individual contracts could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Female Business Women

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to encourage women to start their own businesses.

Alun Michael: In every area it is the role of the local Business Link to advise and signpost women to the range of help and support that is now available to them. The Government are developing the economic argument for Women's Enterprise and earlier this year published the booklet, Promoting Female Entrepreneurship", which captures headline facts and has been used to stimulate thinking across Government and the regional development agencies.
	The Government have been working with partners within the Business Support arena to improve understanding of the support requirements of female entrepreneurs. This has resulted in a training programme for Business Link advisers called 'the Case', which is currently being rolled out and completes early next year.
	In October 2004 the Government reinforced their commitment to Women's Enterprise development with joint Hewitt/Brown formation of the Women's Enterprise Panel. The panel has: (i) developed an action plan to achieve a target of 20 per cent. female business ownership; and (ii) made a recommendation to Government to establish a National Women's Enterprise Task Force.
	The Government are working with the British Bankers Association to raise awareness of the full range of finance options available to female entrepreneurs.
	There is now a cross-Regional Development Agencies Group on Women's Enterprise. We also have an ongoing programme of work with RDAs and Black and Minority Ethnic women's networks to ensure that women from ethnic minority communities have improved access to Business Support.
	To give just one local example, in Coventry, Leigh-Anne Kirby and Lisa Tedds with help from Business Link, the Women's Business Development Agency and the Prince's Trust have successfully set up their Children's Activity Centre business called Monster Mayhem.
	There are over 40,000 more women in self-employment now than in spring 1997.

Female Business Women

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of companies with women on their boards.

Meg Munn: The Female FTSE figures for 2005 were published in November and showed an increase in the number of women on the boards of FTSE 1,000 companies. This index revealed that 78 companies have women on their boards and reflects an increase of 13 per cent. since 2004. Women now make up 10.5 per cent. of board members compared to 5.8 per cent. in 2000.
	Similar information for other companies is not available.

Flexitime Rules

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of staff in his Department have flexitime included as a provision of their contract of employment.

Alan Johnson: Staff appointment contracts set out the total number of hours that staff are required to work and do not include specific provisions for flexitime working. It is a matter for local agreement how these hours are worked, either on the flexibility of start and finish times or allowing staff to work a more formal flexible working hours scheme-so long as an agreed central core time is worked each day and conditioned hours worked each week. Since it is a matter of local agreement, the Department does not keep a central record of those staff who work under a formal flexible working hours scheme. Information on each member of staffs local flexible working arrangements could therefore only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employees in his Department requested training to improve their (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills in each year since 2002.

Alan Johnson: Figures for literacy and numeracy take up in the Department are not held centrally. These items are discussed and dealt with locally in each group within DTI. Individuals discuss and review their training and development needs with their line managers as part of the performance management process. Any skills gaps in literacy or numeracy are identified and the appropriate help in a number of ways, for example, through training courses, on the job training or the Skills for Life Programme at an external learning establishment. Staff can also approach their union learning representative for advice and sources of help on how to improve their literacy and numeracy.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department spent on in-house training on (a) literacy and (b) numeracy (i) in total and (ii) per head, in each year since 2002.

Alan Johnson: The Department does not run any specific in-house training on basic literacy or numeracy skills although courses in finance and in writing skills which will cover literacy and numeracy are available. DTI training budgets are devolved among groups, therefore figures for how much DTI spends on in-house training are not available.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions since 7 July 2005 he has used the London Underground in connection with his official duties.

Alan Johnson: None. Just as before 7 July 2005, I walk to official engagements where possible and use the Government Car Service when necessary.

Parliamentary Questions

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will answer questions (a) 26315, (b) 26316 and (c) 26317 tabled by the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon on 3 November 2005.

Alan Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to his questions which were answered on 23 November 2005, Official Report, column 2045W and 2 December 2005, Official Report, column 884W.

Small Firms Loan Guarantees

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the expenditure was on the small firms loan guarantees scheme in each financial year from 2000–01 (a) in total and (b) in each (i) region and (ii) county in (A) cash and (B) real terms; and what this was in (1) cash and (2) real terms expenditure per head of population.

Alun Michael: Expenditure on the small firms loan guarantee (SFLG) occurs when a borrower defaults and the participating lender affected makes a claim against the Government's guarantee.
	The overall expenditure in each of the last five years is set out in table 1, both in cash terms and in real terms, ie reduced by the amount of the SFLG premiums collected from borrowers and recoveries arising from previous claims, as well as the real terms expenditure per head of population. Regional distributions of the percentage of cash costs for each of the last four years are provided in table 2.
	Because of the way in which data are collated disproportionate cost would be incurred to provide county level expenditure and cost per head details for the whole of the United Kingdom.
	
		Table 1: Annual SFLG expenditure 2001–05 before and after borrowers' premiums
		
			  Cash cost (£ million) Premiums and recoveries (£ million) Real (net) cost (£ million) Real cost per head (pence/person) 
		
		
			 2000–01 34.435 9.244 25.191 42.6 
			 2001–02 44.927 9.311 35.316 60.0 
			 2002–03 50.316 9.590 40.726 68.4 
			 2003–04 53.563 12.510 41.053 68.6 
			 2004–05 58.720 18.360 40.360 67.5 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Regional distribution of annual SFLG cash expenditure 2001–05
		
			 Percentage 
			 Region 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 London 9.64 12.92 10.39 10.30 
			 South East 10.28 13.36 14.99 15.44 
			 South West 10.96 7.41 10.35 9.75 
			 East of England 10.39 12.49 10.57 8.69 
			 East Midlands 7.65 4.91 8.16 7.14 
			 West Midlands 7.62 9.71 9.83 9.17 
			 North West 9.47 8.94 7.14 9.14 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 6.54 8.24 6.50 7.54 
			 North East 3.87 3.68 2.25 2.86 
			 Scotland 17.11 12.92 16.91 14.21 
			 Wales 6.29 4.87 0.39 5.45 
			 Northern Ireland 0.16 0.55 2.51 0.29 
		
	
	
		Table nn: Annual regional distribution of SFLG loans by number and value
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
			 Region Number £ million Number £ million Number £ million Number £ million Number £ million 
		
		
			 London (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— 607 49.5 912 65.7 
			 South East 801 51.3 829 55.1 861 66.4 834 59.4 1,095 75.7 
			 South West 475 24.5 444 25.1 370 23.7 642 41.4 748 46.3 
			 East of England (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— 532 36.6 671 47.4 
			 East Midlands 863 47.7 770 46.4 655 42.7 410 26.8 491 31.0 
			 West Midlands 406 20.3 369 20.6 357 22.5 498 30.3 636 39.7 
			 North West 396 21.2 451 25.7 418 27.7 511 38.3 605 44.9 
			 Yorks and Humber 320 18.3 334 18.6 297 19.3 447 33.9 565 37.4 
			 North East 151 7.0 126 5.6 126 8.3 179 12.1 236 15.3 
			 Scotland 621 36.4 698 44.2 558 38.1 789 48.8 643 42.7 
			 Wales 243 10.4 211 9.7 218 14.7 354 21.3 344 21.6 
			 Northern Ireland 36 3.4 37 3.9 56 5.9 46 3.7 44 4.0 
			 Total 4,312 240 4,269 255 3,916 269 5,966 409 7,130 481 
			
			 Average loan (£) 55,765 59,660 68,810 68,598 67,507 
		
	
	(3) Figures for years up to and including 2002–03 combine London with South East and East of England with East Midlands.
	Notes:
	1. Loan values are rounded to nearest £100,000 for regional figures and nearest £ million for totals.
	2. Prior to 1 April 2003 a guarantee rate of either 70 per cent. or 85 per cent. applied to SFLG loans dependent upon the age of the borrowing business. A single guarantee rate of 75 per cent. applied to all loans guaranteed from 1 April 2003 but the change in guarantee rate was not applied retrospectively to loans guaranteed prior to that date.
	SFLG Cost: Liability Ratios
	The ratios of the gross and net costs of SFLG to the extent of the Department's potential exposure (contingent liabilities) for 2003–04 were 8.5 per cent. and 6.5 per cent. respectively, based on gross and net expenditure on demands of £53.563 million and £41.053 million respectively during the year and liabilities assessed at £633.8 million as at 31 March 2004.
	The ratios of the gross and net costs of SFLG to the extent of the Department's potential exposure (contingent liabilities) for 2004–05 were 7.7 per cent. and 5.3 per cent. respectively, based on gross and net expenditure on demands of £58.720 million and £40.360 million respectively during the year and liabilities assessed at £764.3 million as at 31 March 2005.
	The way in which liabilities are modelled has changed and so it is not possible to provide directly comparable ratios for earlier years.

Tariffs

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the cost to the British economy of tariffs on industrial goods.

Ian Pearson: There are many estimates of the cost of tariffs on industrial goods. These estimates suggest that global costs of tariffs on industrial goods exceed $100 billion. Precise estimate of the share of these global costs borne by the UK economy vary, but could be up to $5 billion.

World Trade Organisation

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry what action the Government plan to take at the World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong to ensure fair treatment for the world's poorest farmers.

Ian Pearson: The Government are committed to achieving an ambitious, pro-development package at the WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong, which will allow for a successful conclusion to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) by the end of 2006.
	The DDA has the potential to deliver a freer and fairer trading system, benefiting farmers in developing countries and least developed countries through increased market access and the dismantling of trade-distorting subsidies by industrialised countries. The UK will press for poor countries to be given the flexibility to decide, plan and sequence trade reforms through effective special and differential treatment and, in the agriculture negotiations, designation of special products and use of a special safeguard mechanism.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Community/New Opportunities Funds

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will break down the cost of the administrative merger of the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund by main cost area.

Richard Caborn: The break down of costs of the administrative merger of the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund are in the table.
	
		
			 Merger main cost area Cost (£) 
		
		
			 Consultation costs 745,854 
			 IT changes 949,312 
			 Termination payments 1,898,853 
			 Professional fees 85,968 
			 Property costs 1,226,486 
			 Other costs 69,762 
			 Total 4,976,235

Correspondence

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will respond to the letter from the hon. Members for Croydon, South (Richard Ottaway) and for East Surrey dated 5 September regarding Kenley Airfield.

James Purnell: holding answer 21 November 2005
	I replied to the hon. Members on 5 December with apologies for the delay in responding.

Damages

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1608W, on damages, if she will list those cases where the litigation has been brought to a Minister's attention owing to the (a) nature and (b) scale of the damages sought.

David Lammy: This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff (Chronic Back Pain)

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what initiatives are being taken in her Department to help civil servants with chronic back pain.

David Lammy: DCMS has a duty of care to all staff and provides staff with Desk Assessments to highlight any physical problems they may have, including back problems. The Department undertakes reasonable adjustments to physical features staff work areas, including desk, chair and IT equipment and alternative working patterns. If the back problem is more severe the Department arranges for a more specialised Occupational Health Desk Assessment to be carried out.

Digital Switchover

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to increase awareness about digital switchover.

James Purnell: Digital UK, a not-for-profit organisation, has been set up to co-ordinate the UK's switch to digital television and will make sure that everyone is aware of what is happening and what they need to do. The switchover process will take place between 2008 and 2012, ITV region by ITV region. Digital UK launched its national switchover public awareness campaign in the national press in September. It has also set up a website and call centre for enquiries and leaflets, produced jointly with the Government, have been distributed to libraries, CAB offices and retailers across the UK. Digital UK plans to begin targeted regional campaigns three years prior to switching and communications activity is already underway in the borders region.
	Additionally, the Government are continuing to run its own media campaign to inform consumers of the benefits of digital switchover and why it is happening.
	To help make digital television options clear to consumers, the Government launched the digital switchover Certification Mark in 2004. It certifies products and services that are designed to help consumers through switchover. This helps to raise awareness of digital switchover, and is now visible in retailers across the UK and also on TV and recording equipment of most leading brands.

Digital Switchover

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to increase awareness of digital switchover in the Leeds West constituency.

James Purnell: Digital UK, a not-for-profit organisation, has been set up o co-ordinate the UK's switch to digital television and will make sure that everyone is aware of what is happening and what they need to do. The switchover process will take place between 2008 and 2012, ITV region by ITV region. Digital UK launched its national switchover public awareness campaign in the national press in September. It has also set up a website and call centre for inquiries and leaflets, produced jointly with the Government, have been distributed to libraries, CAB offices and retailers across the UK. Digital UK plans to begin targeted regional campaigns three years prior to switching and communications activity is already under way in the Borders region.
	Leeds West receives Yorkshire Television, which will switch over in 2011 and localised communications will start in 2008.
	Additionally, the Government are continuing to run their own media campaign to inform consumers of the benefits of digital switchover and why it is happening.
	To help make digital television options clear to consumers, the Government launched the digital switchover Certification Mark in 2004. It certifies products and services that are designed to help consumers through switchover. This helps to raise awareness of digital switchover, and is now visible in retailers across the UK and also on TV and recording equipment of most leading brands.

Licensing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what advice and guidance her Department has given to local authorities on how premises licensed under the Licensing Act 2003 should be treated if they open for hours which are outside those permitted by virtue of their planning permission when their Licensing Act 2003 premises licence allows for them to open.

James Purnell: Guidance issued to licensing authorities under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, which was also circulated to every police chief constable, includes advice on the integration of planning and licensing regimes. It emphasises that applications for premises licences should normally be made by businesses with planning consent- should not be a re-run of the planning application; and should not cut across decisions taken by the local authority planning committee or following appeals against decisions taken by that committee.
	The guidance also notes that the giving of a temporary event notice does not relieve the premises users from any requirements under planning law for appropriate planning permission where it is required.
	The enforcement of planning law is a matter for individual local authorities.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions since 7 July she has used the London Underground in connection with her official duties.

David Lammy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has used the London Underground three times since 7 July in connection with her official duties.

Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the merits of linking London's 2012 Olympic games with celebrations for Her Majesty the Queen's diamond jubilee.

Richard Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not made any assessment of linking the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games with the Queen's diamond jubilee in 2012. Any announcement of plans will be made closer to the time.

Television Licences (Exemptions)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many businesses in Kettering constituency are exempt from requiring a television licence under the exemption scheme for people aged over 75 years.

James Purnell: The over-75 concession is not an exemption from the television licensing requirements but an entitlement to a free licence. It is available only to people aged 75 or over for their sole or main residence. It is not intended for business premises and there are accordingly no records of free licences issued for such premises.

Video Lending

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who is responsible for regulating and inspecting libraries to ensure compliance with the age restrictions on videos for loan.

David Lammy: The display and loan of age restricted items is the management responsibility of library authorities who are bound by the laws for sale or loan of age restricted items within the terms of the Video Recordings Acts 1984 and 1993. Enforcement is the responsibility of local trading standards departments.

CABINET OFFICE

Prime Ministerial Staff

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of posts in (a) the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit and (b) the No.10 Policy Unit (i) is occupied by non civil-servants and (ii) was filled after open competition recruitment processes.

Jim Murphy: There are no non-civil servants working in either the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit or the No.10 Policy Directorate. Permanent civil service appointments are filled in accordance with the requirements of the civil service commissioners' recruitment code and the civil service management code. The job of the head of the PMDU is currently the subject of an external open competition. Under the terms of the Civil Service Order in Council, special adviser appointments are exempt from the normal civil service recruitment processes.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Lenient Sentences

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General how many sentences were challenged for being unduly lenient in each year since 2000; and what the result was in each case.

Mike O'Brien: The following table shows the numbers of cases considered by the Law Officers as potential unduly lenient sentences in each year since 2001, and the outcomes.
	
		Unduly Lenient Sentences(4)
		
			 ULS referral stage 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005(5) 
		
		
			 Cases referred to the Law Officers 209 261 248 318 270 
			 Cases referred to the Court of Appeal 120 112 86 105 78 
			 Cases found to be unduly lenient 95 87 73 81 37 
			 Cases where sentence increased 78 68 65 64 28 
			 Cases not yet heard 0 0 0 0 14 
		
	
	(4) As of 1 December 2005.
	(5) Part of year.

Prosecutions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions were dropped in each government region in England in each quarter since April 2004; what percentage of all cases each figure represents; what the total cost of cases dropped was; what the total cost of all cases was; and what the reason recorded on the Compass Case Management System was for each case dropped.

Mike O'Brien: I have placed in the House of Commons Library the number, percentage and costs of prosecutions dropped over the period from April 2004 to September 2005 in respect of magistrates courts cases and that of the Crown court. The detail is too lengthy to provide in a simple parliamentary answer.
	Broad average costs of prosecutions dropped have been calculated by applying the CPS activity based costing model, using average staff input times which enable costs for dropped cases in the magistrates court and the Crown court to be calculated. The broad average cost to CPS of a case dropped in the magistrates courts is £208, and for a case dropped in the Crown court is £1,840. The cost figures represent the internal cost to the Service but do not include disbursements such as counsel fees or witness expenses.
	The total cost of cases dropped over the 18 month period was £79 million. The cost of prosecuting all cases including cases dropped was approximately £450 million. Again, these figures exclude disbursements such as counsel fees and witness expenses.

TRANSPORT

0870 Numbers

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the occasions in the last five years on which 0870 telephone numbers have been used by his Department as contact numbers for members of the public; and how much revenue was received from the use of 0870 contact numbers in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Karen Buck: DfT HQ buildings do not have any centrally provided 0870 numbers. The following DfT Agencies do use 0870 numbers.
	VOSA—have one 0870 number (0870 60 60 440) providing a national inquiry service which was activated on 21 November 2000. The revenue received until 15 April 2004 was on average £380 per calendar month. From 15 April 2004, VOSA have received £41,924.29.
	MCA—have used only one 0870 number in the last five years—0870 600 6505—for the 'One Stop Shop' (also known as the 'Infoline'). This number is not revenue generating.
	DVLA—have fronted over 50 public services with 0870 numbers during the last five years. Currently DVLA use 10 0870 numbers to front public services. Rebate figures for the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 2000–01 76,763 
			 2001–02 247,807 
			 2002–03 656,164 
			 2003–04 1,109,719 
			 2004–05 2,285,528 
		
	
	DSA—have used the following numbers over the past five years:
	0870 01 01 372—English Language Theory and Practical Test Booking Line
	0870 01 00 372—Welsh Language Theory and Practical Test Booking Line
	0870 01 02 372—Number used for faxed test bookings
	0870 01 07 372—Minicom line for test bookings.
	Income figures are only available back to 2003–04, as follows:
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 2003–04 908,536 
			 2004–05 1,268,007 
			 2005–06 (6)350,838 
		
	
	(6) To June 2005.

Accountancy Firms

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) nature and (b) value was of all contracts, consultancies or other services placed with the accountancy firms (i) Deloitte and Touche, (ii) Ernst and Young, (iii) KPMG, (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers and (v) other accountancy firms in (A) 2004–05 and (B) 2005–06 by the Department and its agencies.

Derek Twigg: A table showing the nature and value of the contracts/orders placed with the above accountancy firms has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Airport Runways

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Birmingham airport regarding the establishment of an (a) additional and (b) extended runway.

Karen Buck: The Secretary of State for Transport has not had any discussions with Birmingham airport regarding the establishment of either an additional or an extended runway since the publication of the Air Transport White Paper in December 2003.

Bedfordshire Transport Plan

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding the Government will provide to support the delivery of the Bedfordshire Local Transport Plan for 2006–07 to 2010–11; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The Government has announced indicative highways capital maintenance allocations for 2006–07. For Bedfordshire this figure is £6.001 million. It will announce the remainder of the 2006–07 settlement and finalised forward planning guidelines to 20010–11 soon.

Damages

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the 10 largest amounts of damages paid out by his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the nature of the claim was in each case.

Karen Buck: 10 largest amounts of damages paid out last year by this Department are:
	
		
			  Damages £ 
		
		
			 HA Personal injury Drainage flooding 1,350,000 
			 MCA Damages for costs for fix vessel stability 550,000 
			 DSA Personal injury 392,000 
			 HA Personal injury, falling tree 250,000 
			 MCA Damages to cover costs for vessel survey 226,204 
			 HA Property Damage tree roots 140,000 
			 DVLA Early termination of contract (Planned Maintenance and Helpdesk) 98,000 
			 MCA Damages for cover costs for vessel survey 66,142 
			 DVLA Early termination of contract (Catering) 65,000 
			 HA Fatality Drainage/flooding 50,000

Departmental Contracts

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list contractors based in other (a) EU member states and (b) states that (i) provided services to his Department between 1 September 2003 and 31 August 2004 and (ii) have provided services to his Department since 31 August 2005; and what the (A) nature and (B) cost of the work was in each case;
	(2)  if he will list contractors based in non-EU states that provided services to his Department between 1 September 2004 and 31 August 2005; and what the (a) nature and (b) cost of this work in each case was;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 88W, on European contractors, what the title and value of the contracts were in each case.

Karen Buck: Lists showing details of the contracts or orders placed with contractors based in non-EU and EU member states by the central Department and each Executive agency in the period 1 September 2003 to 31 August 2005 have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Contracts

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many contracts were signed by the Department in (a) 2005–06 to date and (b) 2004–05 for direct mail; and what the value was in each case.

Karen Buck: The DfT(C) has a central contract (shared with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) for the provision of Storage and Distribution Services that started in January 2003.
	Details of orders placed on that contract for direct mailings are as follows:
	(a) 42 orders to the value of £77,540
	(b) 73 orders to the value of £91,614
	Where appropriate, agencies within DfT have their own local arrangements for the provision of direct mailing services tailored to their individual needs. Details are provided as follows:
	
		
			  (a) 2005–06 (b) 2004–05 
			 Agency Number Value (£) Number Value (£) 
		
		
			 Highways Agency 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 DVLA 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 VOSA 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 DSA 1 84,600 0 n/a 
			 VCA 1 Less than 3,000 1 Less than 3,000 
			 MCA (7)— (7)— 0 n/a 
		
	
	(7) Not available

Departmental Estate

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) land and (b) property his Department (i) owns and (ii) rents in each constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The requested information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Finance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the real terms percentage increase in allocated resources for his Department (a) was for the period 1997–98 to 2004–05 and (b) is estimated to be between 2005–06 and 2007–08 (i) for each period and (ii) for each year.

Karen Buck: The first year for which figures are comparable for the Department for Transport is 1998–99. The following table shows the real terms percentage changes in (a) out-turn between 1998–99 and 2004–05; and (b) plans between 2005–06 and 2007–08.
	
		(a) Real terms percentage changes in total departmental expenditure limit (net of depreciation) out-turn 1998–99 to 2004–05
		
			 Percentage 
			  Percentage increase between years Percentage increase 1998–99 to 2004–05 
		
		
			 1997–98 to 1998–99 — — 
			 1998–99 to 1999–2000 +9 +104 
			 1999–2000 to 2000–01 -8  
			 2000–01 to 2001–02 +40  
			 2001–02 to 2002–03 +28  
			 2002–03 to 2003–04 +11  
			 2003–04 to 2004–05 +2  
		
	
	
		(b) Real terms percentage changes in total departmental expenditure limit (net of depreciation) plans 2005–06 to 2007–08
		
			 Percentage 
			  Percentage increase between years Percentage increase 2005–06 to 2007–08 
		
		
			 2004–05 to 2005–06 +7 — 
			 2005–06 to 2006–07 +13 +4 
			 2006–07 to 2007–08 -8

Departmental Relocation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to relocate staff in his Department and related agencies into London and the south-east.

Karen Buck: The Department has no plans to relocate staff, including those in our Executive agencies, based outside London and the south-east, into London and the south-east.

Departmental Relocation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which buildings and sites used by his Department and related agencies (a) have ceased to be used in the last year and (b) will be closed under current plans for relocation.

Karen Buck: There are no buildings or sites that have ceased to be used in the last year as part of our relocation plans. The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency have reported that their occupation of Great Eastern House (Cambridge) will cease with effect from March 2006 as a result of the relocation of work to Bristol.

Departmental Relocation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in his Department have been relocated into London and the south east in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Karen Buck: The Department was formed in May 2002. Since then no staff have been relocated into London and the south east

Departmental Tendering Policy

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on including (a) ethical and (b) environmental factors in tenders for services.

Karen Buck: The Department for Transport follows Office of Government Commerce guidelines on ethical and fair trading, and the Office of Government Commerce and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs joint note on environmental issues in purchasing, having regard to the rules and general principles of EU law deriving from the treaty of Rome and the Single European Act. These include non-discrimination, equal treatment, transparency, proportionality and mutual recognition, and apply to all procurement by public bodies.
	Specific knowledge or expertise in the environmental field can be a legitimate criterion for assessing technical capacity in the selection of tenderers, and environmental factors or requirements may be included in conditions of contract or specifications where relevant to the contracted service and subject to compliance with European Community law.

Disabled People (Transport Access)

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to include services which cater for disabled people unable to use public transport in the provisions for free travel from April 2006.

Karen Buck: The Government are committed to achieving an accessible transport system. We are implementing the transport provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 so that public transport, including new trains, buses and coaches and newly licensed taxis will be accessible to disabled people, including those who need to travel in wheelchairs.
	The statutory minimum entitlement for concessionary travel covers off-peak local bus services. Authorities will continue to have the discretion to extend the entitlement to community transport services and/or offer travel token schemes for taxi travel based on their judgment of local needs and circumstances and their overall financial priorities.

DVLA (Clamping Companies)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information regarding car registration details the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is entitled to provide to vehicle clamping companies; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 6 December 2005
	DVLA is entitled under regulations to provide information from the vehicle register to those who can provide evidence of 'reasonable cause' to have it. Provisions regarding the release have been in force for over 40 years. Data from DVLA is not normally required for wheel clamping purposes. However, the name and address of a vehicle keeper is usually provided where criminal damage has been done to a wheel clamp.
	I made a statement regarding a review of the release of information from the DVLA vehicle register on 2 December 2005, Official Report, columns 50–51WS.

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the (a) total and (b) net cost of (i) integrating the proposed Identity Card Scheme into his Department's IT systems and (ii) the ongoing operation of the scheme within his Department.

Karen Buck: The Department has not finalised current best estimates of the cost of using the ID Cards Scheme to support the services which it oversees. The Department is represented on the Ministerial Committee on Identity Cards which oversees the work on benefits planning and realisation.

Lamberhurst Bypass

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much money was used to pay for the Lamberhurst bypass; and from which fund;
	(2)  what Government regional funds have been used to pay for the Lamberhurst bypass; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what funding was used to pay for the Lamberhurst bypass along the A21 in East Sussex; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The estimated final cost of the A21 Lamberhurst bypass is £25.24 million. The funds allocated to the scheme were from the Government's 10-year Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI).
	The scheme was funded from the Highways Agency budget, which is part of the Department for Transport's voted expenditure.
	No Government regional funds have been used to pay for the A21 Lamberhurst bypass.

Light Rapid Transit

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when a decision will be announced on the funding of the Fareham-Gosport-Portsmouth light rapid transit scheme.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I made about the scheme on the 29 November 2005, Official Report, columns 16–17WS.

National Road Pricing

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what main forms of national road pricing the Department is considering.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 28 November 2005, Official Report, columns 3–4WS about the Transport Innovation Fund.

Olympics

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account was taken of the potential call on resources of the transport infrastructure associated with the 2012 London Olympic games in his decision not to allocate funding to the (a) Merseytram, (b) South Hampshire rapid transit and (c) Leeds supertram schemes.

Derek Twigg: None.

Public Service Agreements

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce more user-friendly reporting of progress against 2004 public service agreement target 6.

Karen Buck: The Department provides regular performance updates against its outstanding public service agreement targets through its annual departmental report and its autumn performance report published in spring and autumn respectively. The 2005 departmental report (Cm6527), which is the most recently published, is available in the House Libraries and online at: www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/divisionhomepage/038323.hcsp.
	The DfT's 2005 autumn performance report is due for publication in mid-December and this will be the first time the Department has reported against its 2004 spending review targets.

Railways

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list the (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by (i) HM Railway Inspectorate and (ii) the Office of the Rail Regulator since 1 November 2003; what the nature of the assignment for each consultant was; and what the value of work done by each consultant was;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by the Office of Rail Regulation since 5 July 2004; what the nature of the assignment for each consultant was; and what the value of work done by each consultant was.

Derek Twigg: Contracts let by HM Railway Inspectorate are a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions. Figures for the Office of Rail Regulation have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Railways

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) technical and (b) financial consultants used by the Strategic Rail Authority since 1 November 2003 on a call-off basis; what the total amount paid to each consultant was; and what the nature was of each project undertaken by each such consultant.

Derek Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Railways

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list the (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by his Department carrying out work relating to the railways since 1 November 2003; what the nature of the assignment for each consultant was; and what the value of work done by each consultant was;
	(2)  if he will list (a) the consultants used in connection with the transfer of the Strategic Rail Authority to DfT Rail, (b) the (i) private finance initiative and (ii) public-private partnership external consultants used by (A) his Department and (B) each of its agencies in each of the last two years and (c) the external consultants used by (1) his Department and (2) each of its agencies, excluding public-private partnership and private finance initiative contracts, in each of the last two years; and what the (y) nature and (z) cost of the work done by each consultant was in each case.

Derek Twigg: Tables have been placed in the Library listing:
	1. DfT(C) PFI/PPP contracts in 2003–04 and 2004–05
	2. DVLA PFI/PPP contracts in 2003–04 and 2004–05
	3. HA PFI/PPP contracts in 2003–04 and 2004–05
	4. DfT(C) non PPP/PFI contracts in 2003–04
	5. DfT(C) non PPP/PFI contracts in 2004–05
	6. DVLA non PPP/PFI contracts in 2003–04 and 2004–05
	7. HA non PPP/PFI contracts in 2003–04 and 2004–05
	8. MCA non-PPP/PFI contracts in 2003–04 and 2004–051
	9. VGA non-PPP/PFI contracts in 2003–04 and 2004–051
	10. VOSA non-PPP/PFI contracts in 2003–04 and 2004–051
	1 MCA, VGA and VOSA had no PPP/PFI contracts in these financial years.
	Each of the tables includes an indication, inserted for internal record-keeping purposes, of the nature of the work involved. In view of the number of entries, more specific descriptions could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Details of technical and financial contracts in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Railways

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many dismantled railway lines have been reopened since 2000; and at what cost in each case.

Derek Twigg: In England, approximately 12 miles of former freight line between Leeming Bar and Leyburn on the Wensleydale Railway were reopened for passenger use in 2003. A further five miles were re-opened in 2004. The work was funded by the Wensleydale Railway plc. The Department for Transport does not have information on the costs involved.
	Some 10 miles of former railway alignment were re-opened for use as part of Croydon Tramlink in 2000, and approximately six miles as part of the Nottingham Express Transit in 2004. Separate costs for the elements of these projects relating to former railway alignments are not available.
	In Scotland, Greenburn rail link opened in May 2004 at a cost of £6.3 million. This was funded by the Scottish Executive and Keir Mining. Through the Larkhall to Milngavie project, the Anniesland to Maryhill line re-opened in September 2005 and the line from Hamilton to Larkhall is expected to re-open in December 2005 at a total cost of £34.5 million. This project is mainly funded by the Scottish Executive, with contributions from Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive and South Lanarkshire Council.

Railways

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the costs of developing passenger services on the Coventry-Nuneaton railway line.

Derek Twigg: Services on the Coventry to Nuneaton line are among those that will be reviewed as we draw up the specification for the new West Midlands franchise. Consultations on the draft specification are expected to begin in the summer of 2006.

Roads

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made with initiatives to reduce road congestion.

Stephen Ladyman: Significant progress has been made putting measures in place to tackle congestion through targeted improvements and new methods of managing traffic. Since 2001 we have completed 32 major strategic road schemes. A further 15 major schemes are currently under construction, including widening of the M25 between Junctions 12 to 15 around Heathrow.
	Uniformed Highways Agency Traffic Officers are now patrolling the motorway network in five regions of the country (West Midlands, South East, North West, North East, and East of England), having taken over some responsibilities from the police for managing incidents and keeping traffic moving. They now have powers to stop and direct traffic in live carriageways, and will be operational on all motorways by next summer.
	Regional control centres are assuming responsibility for scheduling road works, monitoring road conditions, establishing diversion alternatives, setting variable message signs for real-time traffic management, and supporting traffic officers. Five regional control centres are currently operational, and all seven will be live by summer 2006.
	Britain's first High Occupancy Vehicle (carpool) motorway lane will be trialled on the M1 between junctions 6A and 10 (St. Albans to Luton) in 2008, following widening of the motorway. As part of an Active Traffic Management pilot on the M42 corridor between junctions 3a and 7 to the east of Birmingham, mandatory variable speed limits became operational in November, with other aspects of the pilot to follow in 2006, including strictly controlled use of the hard shoulder as a running lane, and access management. Both schemes will operate at peak times to help minimise delay and congestion for road users.
	Transport Direct, the Government's real-time web-based travel information and journey planning service for public and private transport, allows travellers to check the likelihood of delays and see whether choosing a different route, departure time or transport mode might suit them better. The service has now recorded 2.5 million user sessions since formal launch in December 2004. The Highways Agency's Traffic England" website is now operational with real-time information about traffic conditions on motorways and trunk roads.
	The Traffic Management Act 2004 gave local authorities a duty and new powers to do all that is reasonably practicable to keep roads clear and traffic moving, including appointing traffic managers to manage local roads; powers to co-ordinate utility and telecoms companies' road works to minimise disruption, enforce parking and bus lanes, and some moving traffic offences from police.
	In June the Government announced a Transport Innovation Fund to help local authorities develop local charging schemes. Up to £200 million per annum will be made available to support such schemes. Alistair Darling announced on 28 November that seven local authorities will share over £7 million in advance of the main fund to explore new ways to tackle local congestion.

Roads

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress in reducing road congestion.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given today, to the hon. Member for Windsor (Adam Afriyie) UIN 34156.

Roads

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the mean number of days was that road gritting took place in each county in England in 2004–05;
	(2)  what the costs of road gritting were in 2004–05, broken down by local authority;
	(3)  how many miles of roads were gritted (a) within 24 hours of the onset of wintry conditions and (b) in winter 2004–05, broken down by local authority area.

Karen Buck: This information is not collated centrally. The duration, amount, cost and timing of gritting will depend upon each local authority's individual winter service operational plan, and the weather conditions they experience.
	The Department for Transport strongly recommends that local highway authorities carry out winter maintenance in accordance with Section 13 of Well-maintained Highways: Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management" published by the UK Roads Liaison Group earlier this year.

Roads

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the percentage of daily journeys taken by road in the Leeds area from (a) 1980 to 1997, (b) 1997 to 2001 and (c) 2001 to the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available.

Roads

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance the Government have given local authorities on (a) the width of roads and (b) the width of parking spaces.

Karen Buck: The Design Manual for Roads and Bridges" (DMRB) sets the design standards, including road widths, for motorways and other trunk roads throughout the UK. Where it is used for local road schemes, it has the status of guidance only, and it is for local highway authorities to decide on the extent to which it is used in any particular situation.
	Guidance on the width of residential roads and footpaths is contained in Design Bulletin 32: Residential Roads and Footpaths", and in Places, Streets & Movement: A companion guide to Design Bulletin 32". In due course these two documents will be superseded by the Manual for Streets", currently expected to be published by the Department for Transport in late 2006.
	The dimensions for parking bays are specified in Schedule 6 to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002" (SI No. 3113). Guidance on use of the markings for different categories of user is given in section 20 of Chapter 5 of the Traffic Signs Manual". Bays for general use can be varied in width between 1,800mm and 2,700mm at the local authority's discretion, to take account of local conditions. These bays may also be marked wholly or partially on the footway if the traffic order provides for this. Bays for disabled badge holders are normally required to be a minimum of 2,700mm wide (3,600mm maximum), but this minimum may be reduced to 1,800mm in a case where, on account of the nature of the traffic using the road, the overall width of the carriageway is insufficient to accommodate a wider bay. Echelon parking bays, set at an angle to the kerb, are required to be between 2,000mm and 2,500mm in width.

Staff Discipline

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many employees have been dismissed by his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Karen Buck: Since the establishment of the Department for Transport in May 2002 the numbers of employees dismissed are:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2002 66 
			 2003 82 
			 2004 88 
			 2005 85 
		
	
	The Department has procedures in place to deal with misconduct, unsatisfactory performance or attendance. The procedures are published in our internal Staff Handbook that is readily available to staff.

Stretch Limousines

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on (a) licensing of and (b) other regulations relating to stretch limousines; and whether specific regulations apply to them.

Karen Buck: Over recent years we have received a number of representations from numerous individuals and organisations about the licensing, operation and use of stretch limousines. Many of those concerns were aired in the House of Lords Report Stage debate on the Road Safety Bill 29 November 2005, Official Report, columns 122–26W. We are very much aware of the issues and concerns surrounding the operation of stretch limousines and officials are actively looking at what can be done to clarify the position for all parties.

Transport Staff (Abuse)

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many reported incidents of (a) verbal abuse and (b) physical attack on train drivers, guards and ticket inspectors there have been in each year since 1997.

Alistair Darling: holding answer 22 November 2005
	The number of crimes recorded for verbal abuse is not available as the British Transport police (BTP) does not record these offences separately. However, the number of crimes for fear or provocation of violence, harassment, alarm or distress and other public order offences is shown as follows. These numbers include all offences of verbal abuse.
	The number of incidents of assaults on all rail staff while on duty, recorded by the BTP from April 1998, is also shown in the following table. A breakdown of these figures by train drivers, guards and ticket inspectors is not available.
	BTP has recognised that staff assaults are a major concern for the train operating companies and their employees and subsequently view this crime as a policing priority. BTP continue to explore different methods of preventing and detecting staff assaults.
	
		Number
		
			  Public order offences Staff assaults recorded 
		
		
			 1998–99 420 1,225 
			 1999–2000 566 1,433 
			 2000–01 678 1,329 
			 2001–02 692 1,438 
			 2002–03 961 1,925 
			 2003–04 1,011 2,240 
			 2004–05 1,198 2,769 
		
	
	A change in counting rules occurred in 1998. This was built upon by changes in the National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS) in 2002. With the shift to a more customer focused approach and the recording of crime based upon the perception of the victim rather than the police satisfying themselves that a crime had taken place; it was inevitable that there would be a rise in the number of crimes recorded. This point was acknowledged by the Home Office in their publication, Crime in England and Wales 2002/03".
	Notes:
	1. Data are not available prior to April 1998, as the comparison is not meaningful due to a change in Home Office counting rules.
	2. It should also be noted that changes in the National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS) in 2002 led to a rise in the number of crimes recorded, with the biggest impact on the 'Violence against the person' grouping equating to an average 23 per cent. increase in this crime recorded by police forces across England and Wales.

Travel Subsidies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on subsidies for rail and bus travel in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: Central Government spending on bus and heavy rail services for the period in question are set out in the following table.
	
		£ billion
		
			  Bus Rail 
		
		
			 2000–01 1.1 1.2 
			 2001–02 1.4 1.8 
			 2002–03 1.9 2.5 
			 2003–04 2.0 3.6 
			 2004–05(8) 2.0 4.2 
		
	
	(8) Budget estimates
	Spending on rail includes payments to franchised rail operators, grants to PTEs, grants to rail freight operators and capital grants to infrastructure operators.
	The figures in the table for buses show spending in respect of English services—(following devolution, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly assumed responsibility for buses). The majority of bus subsidy in England (outside London) is funded by local authorities from their own resources, including the revenue support grant from Government. Local authorities also provide concessionary fares reimbursement to bus operators. Financial support for bus services in London is provided by the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). The Department for Transport also provides rural bus subsidy grant (RBSG) and, to 2003–04, Urban and Rural Bus Challenge funding. The figures in the table show local authority and TfL expenditure on provision of bus services and concessionary fares on buses for each of the five years to 2004–05 as well the DfT's RBSG allocations bus challenge awards and capital investments in bus related projects.

Tyne and Wear (Financial Bids)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library (a) the bid from Tyne and Wear authorities for support from the Transport Innovation Fund and (b) his response to the bid.

Stephen Ladyman: Both documents have been placed in the Library. All 33 applications for Transport Innovation Fund pump-priming, including that of the Tyne and Wear authorities, are available on the Department's website at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_foi/documents/divisionhomepage/610460.hcsp

UK Air Passengers

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the increase in UK passengers using no-frills carriers has been since 1998.

Karen Buck: Airlines commonly referred to as no-frills carriers include Ryanair, easyJet, bmibaby, Jet2, MyTravelLite, Thomsonfly and flyGlobespan.
	In 1998 the total number of passengers using the no-frills carriers listed above (together with Debonair, which ceased operations in 1999) at UK airports was 7.7 million. This had risen to 53.4 million by the end of 2004. The number of UK based passengers travelling on these carriers rose from 4.4 million in 1998 to 37.9 million in 2004.

UK Air Passengers

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the change in United Kingdom passenger numbers in (a) 2010, (b) 2020 and (c) 2030 if air fares were to remain constant in real terms compared with 2005.

Karen Buck: The only estimate that has been made was an illustrative sensitivity test included in Air Traffic Forecasts for the United Kingdom produced by DfT in 2000. This considered the impact of fares remaining constant in real terms throughout the 1998–2020 period in place of the central assumption of a 1 per cent. annual decline. This sensitivity test showed that passenger traffic at UK airports in 2020 would fall from the central forecast of 401 million to 301 million. However, this was based on the very simple assumption that a 10 per cent. rise in fares would lead to a 10 per cent. fall in demand. In practice, rising real incomes at home and overseas are likely to have a substantial positive impact on the demand for air travel.

UK Air Passengers

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the annual reduction in air fares has been in the UK since 2000 for the (a) business, (b) leisure and (c) no-frills carrier sectors; and what assessment he has made of these figures in relation to the forecast assumptions contained in the Air Transport White Paper.

Karen Buck: The average fare paid on international no frills flights has dropped by 16 per cent. over the 2000–04 period. Other international leisure fares (excluding those included as part of a holiday package) have only fallen by 2 per cent. Average fares paid by international business passengers have fallen by 20 per cent. between 2000 and 2004, but this in part reflects the relative weakness of the long haul sector after 2000, and reduced use of premium cabins by business passengers on short haul flights. The headline reduction in fares in the national forecasts supporting the White Paper was on average a 1 per cent. fall per annum in real terms over the period 1998–2020.

TREASURY

Alcohol-related Deaths

David Ruffley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths in which alcohol was the primary cause there were in each local authority area in each of the last eight years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 December 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths in the local authorities of England and Wales were primarily caused by alcohol. (35462)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2004. I am placing in the House of Commons Library, a table showing the numbers of deaths among residents of England and Wales where the underlying cause of death indicated a condition directly related to alcohol use in the years 1997 to 2004.

Benefits (Leeds, West)

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Leeds West constituency were in receipt of (a) family credit, (b) working families tax credit, (c) disabled person's tax credit, (d) child tax credit and (e) working tax credit in each of the last eight years in which the credit was payable.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the number of families who were receiving family credit broken down by region are not available. Estimates of the number of recipient families of working families' and disabled person's tax credits from 2001–2002 broken down by constituency appear in the quarterly WFTC and DPTC Geographical Analyses. These publications can be found on the Inland Revenue website, at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm
	Comparable estimates of the number of in-work families (broken down by families with and without children) in each region, local authority and constituency with tax credits for 2003–04 awards, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003–04, appear in the HMRC statistical publication Child and Working Tax Credits statistics. Finalised Awards 2003–04. Geographical analyses."
	More recent provisional estimates for in-work families, as at selected dates in 2004–05, in each such area appear in the publication Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics Geographical Analyses."
	Both of these publications can be found on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm.

Breast Cancer

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of breast cancer patients lived for at least five years after treatment in the last period for which figures are available; and what the average such percentage is in the European Union.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. David Amess, dated 7 December 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what percentage of breast cancer patients live for at least five years after the treatment in the United Kingdom; and what the average such percentage is in the European Union. (34591)
	An identical question was asked by Simon Hughes MP earlier this year. The answer was published in Hansard column 1240W on 7 February 2005. No further relevant data have been published since that answer.

British Film Industry

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what support the Government gave to the British film industry in (a) direct funding and (b) tax breaks in the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The tax costs of Sections 42 and 48 film tax relief are provided in the following table. These costs include substantial known avoidance that was closed down by anti-avoidance measures announced at the 2004 pre-Budget report.
	
		(£ million)
		
			  Section 42 relief Section 48 relief Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 5 5 10 
			 1998–99 10 40 50 
			 1999–2000 20 80 100 
			 2000–01 25 90 115 
			 2001–02 35 120 155 
			 2002–03 60 145 205 
			 2003–04 95 190 285 
			 2004–05 170 350 520 
			 2005–06 220 340 560 
		
	
	The Government has also provided £448 million in direct funding to the UK film industry in the last 10 years. This figure includes:
	£252 million National Lottery funding provided by the Arts Council between 1995 and 2001;
	£19 million provided to the British Screen Finance Group between 1996 and 2000; and
	£177 million National Lottery funding provided by the UK Film Council between 2000 and 2005.

Departmental Assets

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1571–72W, on departmental assets, if he will estimate the value of each item listed.

John Healey: HM Treasury's only immovable assets are:
	1. the land and building at 1 Horse Guards Road (£92,450,000)
	2. surplus freehold property at Honeypot Lane, Stanmore (OGC) (£13,000,000)
	3. freehold premises at Thistle Street Edinburgh (OGC) (£2,570,000)
	4. leasehold improvements to premises at Philpot Lane (DMO) (£464,000)
	The 10 most valuable movable assets are:
	1. Records Management system (Jigsaw) (£1,470,000)
	2. Government Financial Management system (Coins) (£1,340,000)
	3. HM Treasury internal accounts production system (Abacus) (£710,000)
	4. Market risk system (DMO) (£559,000)
	5. Exchequer Funds and Accounts treasury accounting system (Tripp) (£490,000)
	6. Silver ink stand (one of set of three) (£200,000)
	7. Silver ink stand (one of set of three) (£200,000)
	8. Silver ink stand (one of set of three) (£200,000)
	9. E-learning database (£160,000)
	10. Cashflow forecasting software (DMO) (£128,000)
	Values above are net book values as at 31 March 2005.

Departmental Estate

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) land and (b) property his Department (i) owns and (ii) rents in each constituency; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Treasury occupies 1 Horse Guards road in the constituency of the cities of London and Westminster, under a PFI agreement, and rents half a floor at a building in the constituency of Battersea.

Departmental Tendering Policy

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on including (a) ethical and (b) environmental factors in tenders for services.

John Healey: The Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs follow common procurement policies.
	(a) Ethical factors:
	Fair and Ethical Trading
	There is scope under the Government's procurement policy and the EU procurement rules to encourage the inclusion of fair trade options in tenders for catering services and supply contracts, but under the EU rules, specifications cannot be framed exclusively in terms of fair trade requirements.
	The opportunity to purchase Fair Trade goods is considered on a case-by-case basis, and in accordance with the OGC Guidance on Fair and Ethical Trading http://www.ogc.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?docid=1001597
	When tendering for services, staff follow the procurement guidance in Government Accounting Chapter 22 http://www.government-accounting.gov.uk/current/content/qa_22_4.htm. which requires Departments to preserve the highest standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality and objectivity in all dealings with suppliers and potential suppliers.
	(b) Environmental factors:
	The Treasury and HMRC are committed to Sustainable Development and the policy followed by both Departments on environmental purchasing is set out at http://www.hmrc. gov.uk/about/supguide.htm#11:
	Environmental issues are included in the tender documents as appropriate and where a contract is deemed to have an environmental impact, there is a questionnaire that is issued to potential suppliers.

Drugs Overdose

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many deaths resulted from an overdose of (a) methadone, (b) heroin and (c) other classified drugs in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 December 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths resulted from an overdose of (a) methadone, (b) heroin and (c) other classified drugs in each of the last five years for which figures are available. (35477)
	Figures readily available from death certification relate to deaths due to drug poisoning, not the total number that were attributable to drug use. These figures are produced from a special database which contains deaths where the underlying cause was drug poisoning. The most recent year for which figures are available is 2003. The table below shows the number of deaths due to drug poisoning where methadone, heroin/morphine or any drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act were mentioned on the death certificate for the five years 1999 to 2003.
	
		Number of deaths from drug-related poisoning(9) where methadone, heroin/morphine, or other controlled drugs were mentioned on the death certificate(10) England and Wales: 1999–2003(11)
		
			 Calendar year (a) Methadone(12) (b) Heroin/ morphine(12) (c) Controlled drug excluding deaths with a mention of methadone or heroin/morphine Any controlled drug mentioned(10) 
		
		
			 1999 298 754 414 1,498 
			 2000 238 926 405 1,593 
			 2001 207 889 338 1,447 
			 2002 216 790 343 1,356 
			 2003 175 591 264 1,052 
		
	
	(9) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes F11-F16, F18-F19, X40-X44, X60-X64, X85 and Y19-Y14.
	(10) Some deaths may be counted in more than one category of this table, for example if heroin and methadone are recorded on the death certificate, the death will be recorded once under methadone, once under heroin and once under any controlled drug.
	(11) Data are for deaths occurring in the calendar year.
	(12) Source: Table 2 of the annual report: " Deaths related to drug poisoning: England and Wales, 1999–2003, published in Health Statistics Quarterly 25 in February 2005.

Earnings Statistics

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people earned (a) less than £5,000, (b) between £5,000 to £10,000, (c) between £10,000 to £13,000, (d) between £13,000 to £17,500, (e) between £17,500 to £27,000 and (f) over £27,000 in (i) 1988–89 and (ii) in each year from 2001 to 2004.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 December 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people earned (a) less than £5,000, (b) between £5,000 to £10,000, (c) between £10,000 to £13,000, (d) £13,000 to £17,500, (e) between £17,500 to £27,000 and (f) over £27,000 in (i) 1988–89 and (ii) in each year from 2001 to 2004. (34679)
	Currently average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for full time employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. This is the standard definition used for ASHE. The ASHE does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	The attached table shows the percentage of employees in the United Kingdom for each year between 2001 and 2004 earning between the specified pay bands. Annual pay has only been published since 1999; therefore I have been unable to supply data for 1988–89.
	The ASHE, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
	
		Percentage of employees(13) in the United Kingdom whose mean annual earnings are between specified amounts
		
			  Less than £5,000 Between £5,000-£9,999 Between £10,000-£12,999 Between £13,000-£17,499 Between £17,500-£26,999 More than £27,000 
		
		
			 2001 10.1 15.2 11.3 17.3 26.6 19.5 
			 2002 9.9 14.4 10.9 16.8 26.0 22.2 
			 2003 9.4 13.7 10.4 16.5 26.0 24.0 
			 2004 9.1 13.1 9.7 15.9 25.9 26.4 
		
	
	(13) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay period was unaffected by absence
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

HM Revenue and Customs

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in HM Revenue and Customs have been redeployed to tax credit work in each month since January; what the total staffing of the tax credit department was in each quarter since Q1 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of full-time equivalent staff in post in the tax credit office, (TC) at the end of each quarter since April 2003 was around:
	
		
			 Quarter ending Staffing 
		
		
			 June 2003 3500 
			 September 2003 3400 
			 December 2003 3300 
			 March 2004 3200 
			 June 2004 2850 
			 September 2004 2800 
			 December 2004 2750 
			 March 2005 2800 
			 June 2005 2950 
			 September 2005 2800 
		
	
	In addition to TCO employees extra staff are also employed to work on tax credits at certain times, depending on the variable tax credits workload, for example staff employed in HMRC contact centres. Such staff are not included in the aforementioned table , and figures for their staff are not readily available.

Income Tax

David Mundell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Scotland pay income tax.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of taxpayers in Scotland can be found on National Statistics table 2.2 'Number of income taxpayers, by country' on HM Revenue and Customs' website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2–2.xls

Income Tax

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has plans to increase the nil rate income tax band for trusts.

Dawn Primarolo: A £500 standard rate band was introduced in Finance Act 2005, below which trust income is subject to no more than the basic rate of tax. We keep all matters of taxation under review as part of the Budget process.

Income Tax

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to introduce differential income tax rates for protective trusts, with particular reference to those formed under section 42 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.

Dawn Primarolo: As announced in the Chancellor's pre-Budget report we are considering a relief for registered social landlords holding sinking funds in trust for tenants.

Infant Deaths

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many infant deaths there were in the UK in (a) the latest year for which records exist and (b) each of the preceding three years; and what the rate per 10,000 was for the last four years for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 December 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many infant deaths there were in the United Kingdom and the rate per 10,000 for the last four years that data are available. (34688)
	The most recent year for which figures are available is 2004. Figures for the latest year are based on provisional number of occurrences in that year (published in the November edition of Health Statistics Quarterly). These update earlier provisional 2004 figures which were based on number of registrations. I refer you to the answer given in Official Report 437, 10th October, Column No. 299.
	Figures requested for the years 2001–2004 are given in the table below.
	
		Infant mortality, numbers and rates per 10,000 live births, United Kingdom, 2001–04(14)
		
			  Number Rate per 10,000 live births 
		
		
			 2001 3,664 54.8 
			 2002 3,497 52.3 
			 2003 3,686 53.0 
			 2004(14) 3,607 50.4 
		
	
	(14) Provisional.
	Source:
	Health Statistics Quarterly28, Table 2.1.

Inflation

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average rate of inflation was in each year since 1978–79.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 December 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question requesting the average rate of inflation in each year since 1978–79. (34680).
	The information requested is shown in the table below which gives average annual inflation rates for the consumer prices index (CPI) and retail prices index (RPI).
	The CPI is the main domestic measure of inflation for macroeconomic purposes in the United Kingdom. It forms the basis of the government's inflate target that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is required to achieve.
	The CPI index is available from January 1996, with estimates available back to 1988.
	The RPI is available from 1947 and its uses include the indexation of pensions, state benefits and index-linked gilts.
	Both the CPI and RPI measure the average change from month to month in the prices of consumer goods and services purchased in the UK, although there are differences in coverage and methodology. These differences are summarised in the background notes to the Consumer Price Indices First Release in which these figures are published monthly. It is available to download from the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=868.
	
		Average annual percentage change over 12 months(15)
		
			  Retail prices index Consumer prices index(16) 
		
		
			 1978 8.3 n/a 
			 1979 13.4 n/a 
			 1980 18.0 n/a 
			 1981 11.9 n/a 
			 1982 8.6 n/a 
			 1983 4.6 n/a 
			 1984 5.0 n/a 
			 1985 6.1 n/a 
			 1986 3.4 n/a 
			 1987 4.2 n/a 
			 1988 4.9 n/a 
			 1989 7.8 5.2 
			 1990 9.5 7.0 
			 1991 5.9 7.5 
			 1992 3.7 4.2 
			 1993 1.6 2.5 
			 1994 2.4 2.0 
			 1995 3.5 2.6 
			 1996 2.4 2.5 
			 1997 3.1 1.8 
			 1998 3.4 1.6 
			 1999 1.5 1.3 
			 2000 3.0 0.8 
			 2001 1.8 1.2 
			 2002 1.7 1.3 
			 2003 2.9 1.4 
			 2004 3.0 1.3 
			 2005 n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(15) The annual average inflation rate is the percentage change in the annual average index from the previous year. The annual average index is defined as the arithmetic mean of the twelve monthly values from January to December for the year in question calculated using the published rounded monthly indices.
	(16) Prior to 1997 the annual inflation rates for the CPI are estimates.

Maintenance Service Charges/Sinking Funds

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish internal guidance issued by the Inland Revenue in (a) 1998 and (b) 2000 aimed at clarifying the tax treatment of (i) maintenance service charges and (ii) sinking funds.

Dawn Primarolo: The information contained in the internal guidance issued by the Inland Revenue in 1998 and 2000 relating to the tax treatment of maintenance service charges and sinking funds, other than information whose disclosure would be likely to prejudice the assessment or collection of tax, has already been published by the Inland Revenue and may be found on the HMRC website.

Manufacturing

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many manufacturing jobs have been lost since May 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 December 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question
	about manufacturing employment. (34590)
	While statistics for the number of jobs created or lost are not available, survey data allows us to provide a measure of the change in the number of jobs. Using the Workforce jobs series for the United Kingdom, the net decrease in the number of jobs in manufacturing from June 1997 to June 2005 was 1,078,000.

Politically Exposed Persons

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures the Government have put in place to require financial institutions to conduct enhanced due diligence on accounts of politically exposed persons with a view to detecting and reporting transactions which may involve proceeds of foreign corruption; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Money Laundering Regulations 2003 require financial institutions along with all other regulated firms, to have adequate systems to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing including knowing your customer. The regulations are supported by the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) Guidance, which state that enhanced scrutiny and monitoring needs to be conducted on politically exposed persons. This guidance is approved by the Treasury and therefore must be considered by a court in deciding whether a person has committed an offence. In assessing a firms' compliance with their anti-money laundering obligations, the Financial Services Authority will have regard to the relevant provisions of the JMLSG Guidance Notes for the Financial Sector.
	The third money laundering directive includes a specific requirement that firms should have adequate systems in place to identify politically exposed persons and perform enhanced due diligence on them. The directive was adopted in October and will need to be implemented into UK legislation by the end of 2007.

Research and Development Tax Credits

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises in Leeds constituency were eligible for research and development tax credits in the last five years; and what the take-up was.

John Healey: The information requested in relation to enterprises in Leeds is not available.
	For information generally on take-up of research and development tax credits I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Luton, South (Margaret Moran) of 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 991W, on tax credits.

Revenue Evasion

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of revenue evasion prevented by HM Revenue and Customs was in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; what value of revenue evasion has been prevented in 2005–06; and how much related to customs duties in each case.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs do not maintain this information, and it would involve disproportionate cost to produce.

Sick Leave

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his Department's employees who are within one year of the official retirement age are on extended sick leave.

John Healey: There are no employees working in HM Treasury who are within one year of the official retirement age on extended sick leave

Southend West Economy

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) male and (b) female employees were engaged in (i) manufacturing and (ii) agriculture and fishing in Southend West constituency in (A) 1979, (B) 1983, (C) 1987, (D) 1997, (E) 2001 and (F) the last year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 December 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about employment in the Southend West constituency. (34603)
	The attached table shows the number of employee jobs in the manufacturing industry, in the Southend West parliamentary constituency for 1997, 2001 and 2003; the latest period for which information is available. Estimates for agriculture and fishing are not shown in order to avoid potential disclosure of information that is supplied in confidence under the 1947 Statistics of Trade Act. Figures at the parliamentary constituency level are not available for the earlier years requested.
	
		Employee jobs in manufacturing and agriculture and fishing in Southend West parliamentary constituency: 1997, 2001 and 2003
		
			  Manufacturing Agriculture and fishing 
			  Male Female Male Female 
		
		
			 1997 1,496 654 (17)— (17)— 
			 2001 1,441 591 (17)— (17)— 
			 2003 1,196 487 (17)— (17)— 
		
	
	(17) Estimates potentially disclosive due to small sample size.
	Source:
	AES (1997), ABI (2001, 2003).

Tax Allowances

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will list the tax allowances which are operative;
	(2)  what tax allowances have been abolished since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The main rates and allowances are set out each year in the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report and Financial Statement and Budget Report. Copies of this are available in the House Library. More detailed information on individual tax allowances and reliefs with an estimate annual cost of at least £50 million can be found in the HM Treasury publication, Tax ready reckoner and tax reliefs". Recent versions can be found on the HM Treasury website and historic copies are held in the House Library.
	Information on minor tax expenditures and structural reliefs where the costs are less than £50 million is published on the HMRC website. Historic versions are published in Inland Revenue Statistics".

Tax Allowances

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost was of tax allowances in terms of revenue foregone in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on allowances and reliefs with an estimated annual cost of at least £50 million is published in the HM Treasury publication Tax ready reckoner and tax reliefs". Recent versions can be found on the HM Treasury website and historic copies are held in the House of Commons Library.
	http://archive.treasury.gov.uk/prebudget/Nov99/trr.pdf
	http://archive.treasury.gov.uk/pbr2000/tax_ready.pdf
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/DAF/77/TRR01Draft6%20-%20final.pdf
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./media/01A/FB/adtrr02.pdf
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./media/D5D/B2/pbrQ3_trr_revised.pdf
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./media/8F5/9F/pbr04tax_ready_182.pdf.
	An updated version will be available on 5 December 2005.
	Information on minor tax expenditures and structural reliefs where the costs are less than £50 million is published on the HMRC website. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/menu.htm.
	Historic versions are published in Inland Revenue Statistics".
	These tables only contain details relating to former Inland Revenue taxes. The data on minor tax expenditures and structural reliefs will be updated on 30 December 2005 and will cover all HMRC taxes.
	All historic estimates were correct at the time of publication. These do not necessarily constitute a consistent time series for all allowances and reliefs.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of awarding credits through home responsibilities protection on a weekly basis; and how many (a) women and (b) men he estimates would benefit from such a change.

Dawn Primarolo: The available information is as follows:
	Estimated cost of converting home responsibilities protection (HRP) into a weekly credit for people reaching state pension age from 2005–06, and estimated number of people who would benefit from such a change:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Estimated additional gross expenditure in 2005–06 37,000,000 
			 Estimated number of women who would benefit in 2005–06 160,000 
			 Estimated number of men who would benefit in 2005–06 2,000

Tax Credits

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure cases of disputed overpayment of tax credits are resolved quickly; and what are the average processing times for cases referred to the disputed overpayments team.

Dawn Primarolo: I would refer the hon. Member to my statement to the Treasury sub-committee of 26 October 2005, HC 524-ii.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  in how many tax credit awards in 2003–04 income rose by (a) up to £1,000, (b) £1,000 to £1,999, (c) £2,000 to £2,499, (d) £2,500 to £2,999, (e) £3,000 to £3,499, (f) £3,500 to £3,999, (g) £4,000 to £4,999, (h) £5,000 to £5,999, (i) £6,000 to £9,999, (j) £10,000 to £14,999, (k) £15,000 to £19,999, (l) £20,000 to £24,999, (m) £25,000 to £29,999 and (n) over £30,000;
	(2)  in how many tax credit awards in 2003–04 where there had been an increase in income it would have been disregarded had the disregard been set at (a) £3,000, (b) £3,500 and (c) £5,000.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the total number of tax credit awards in 2003–04 split by income rise in each specified band.
	
		
			 Income rise Number of awards (thousands) 
		
		
			 Up to £1,000 438.2 
			 £1,000 to under £2,000 365.2 
			 £2,000 to under £2,500 158.6 
			 £2,500 to under £3,000 139.2 
			 £3,000 to under £3,500 126.1 
			 £3.500 to under £4,000 117.0 
			 £4,000 to under £5,000 200.9 
			 £5,000 to under £6,000 156.7 
			 £6,000 to under £10,000 377.9 
			 £10,000to under £15,000 197.4 
			 £15,000 to under £20,000 85.5 
			 £20,000 to under £25,000 43.2 
			 £25,000 to under £30,000 24.3 
			 £30,000 and over 34.4 
			 All 2,464.6 
		
	
	Income rise is derived using 2001–02 and 2003–04 incomes used to finalise the award.
	In response to the second question, the information requested has been derived from the above table. The number of tax credit awards in 2003–04 where there had been an increase in income, which would have been disregarded had the disregard been set at (a) £3,000, (b) £3,500 and (c) £5,000 is:
	(a) 1.10 million
	(b) 1.23 million
	(c) 1.55 million

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many families their tax credit award would have fallen in 2003–04 had there not been the £2,500 disregard.

Dawn Primarolo: Around 1.5 million families would have had a reduction in entitlement for their tax credit award in 2003–04 if there had not been a £2,500 disregard.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claimants of tax credits since April 2003 who have mistakenly paid back money to the Department for overpayments that were subsequently found not to exist had the money returned to them within (a) two, (b) four, (c) eight, (d) 16 and (e) 32 weeks.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department recovers overpaid tax credits where the claimant has launched an investigation of his tax credit case through the parliamentary ombudsman.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs deal with all complaints and disputes about the recovery of tax credits in accordance with their procedures.
	Cases referred to the parliamentary ombudsman are considered in the same way as any other case.

Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many tax credit awards, in Scotland, in 2003–04 income rose by (a) up to £1,000 to £1,999, (b) £2,000 to £2,499, (c) £2,500 to £2,999, (d) £3,000 to £3,499, (e) £3,500 to £3,999, (f) £4,000 to £4,999, (g) £5,000 to £5,999, (h) £6,000 to £9,999, (i) £10,000 to £14,999, (j) £15,000 to £19,999, (k) £20,000 to £24,999, (l) £25,000 to £29,999 and (m) over £30,000.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the total number of tax credit awards in 2003–04 in Scotland, split by income rise in each specified band.
	
		
			 Income rise Number of awards (thousands) 
		
		
			 Up to £1,000 41.8 
			 £1,000 to under £2,000 34.4 
			 £2,000 to under £2,500 15.1 
			 £2,500 to under £3,000 12.7 
			 £3,000 to under £3,500 11.2 
			 £3,500 to under £4,000 10.8 
			 £4,000 to under £5,000 18.0 
			 £5,000 to under £6,000 14.0 
			 £6,000 to under £10,000 32.8 
			 £10,000 to under £15,000 16.2 
			 £15,000 to under £20,000 6.6 
			 £20,000 to under £25,000 3.2 
			 £25,000 to under £30,000 1.9 
			 £30,000 and over 2.5 
			 All 221.2 
		
	
	The income rise has been derived by using the 2001–02 and 2003–04 incomes which were used to finalise the award.

Taxation

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid in direct and indirect taxation by companies with (a) fewer than 200 employees and (b) fewer than 100 employees in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Figures on receipts from individual taxes are available in tables 2.1A to 2.1E in Financial Statistics published by the Office of National Statistics. www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/tsdtablesl.asp?vbik=fsf.
	It is not possible to apportion total tax receipts between corporate and individual taxpayers because a number of taxes (for example fuel duty) are paid by both companies and individuals.

VAT (Demolition Costs)

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue cost in (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2006–07 of exempting demolition costs from value-added tax.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on VAT from individual goods and services. Supplies of demolition services are standard-rated for VAT. However, where demolition services are provided as part of a single supply contract for the construction of new zero-rated buildings and are supplied immediately before construction starts, the liability of the entire supply contract (including the demolition services) follows that of the zero-rated buildings. VAT charged in relation to demolition on most commercial developments will be reclaimed.
	HMRC has no data on the amount of VAT charged on demolition services and is unable to identify developments where recipients are unable to reclaim VAT charged. As such, it is not possible to make such an estimate.

Vegetable Oil

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what fiscal measures his Department is taking to encourage the use of vegetable oil as an alternative fuel;
	(2)  what legal advice his Department has received on whether pure vegetable oil should qualify for the lower biodiesel rate of duty;
	(3)  if he will list the fuels that are classed as biofuels.

John Healey: A reduced rate of duty for biodiesel was introduced in July 2002 in recognition of its environmental benefits and its higher production costs than conventional diesel. Fuel produced from vegetable oil is eligible for this lower rate (currently 27.10 pence per litre) if it meets the legal definition of biodiesel for tax purposes set out in section 2AA of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979. As with all legislation, this definition was drawn up taking account of legal advice from the Government's legal advisers.
	The term biofuels" is not defined in legislation for tax purposes. It is a generic term covering energy products derived from biomass. A lower duty rate of 27.10 pence per litre is also applied to bioethanol (a petrol substitute).

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of existing heads of school were re-appointed when their school gained academy status.

Jacqui Smith: There are currently 27 open academies. Of these, seven appointed as principal a head from the predecessor school, or one of the predecessor schools, on opening. Two academies were built as brand new schools. The proportion of heads re-appointed is therefore 28 per cent. In many cases, appointing a new principal when the academy opens is an important part of bringing about the educational transformation needed.

Adult Education/Vocational Courses

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received on the impact of funding changes by the Learning and Skills Council on (a) the numbers enrolling and (b) the level of fees charged for adult and community learning courses.

Bill Rammell: On the 21 October, I made an announcement, setting out the Government's strategic direction for the learning and skills sector for 2006/7 and 2007/8. Although more public funding will be going into the sector, we will focus funding even more strongly on key priorities of raising participation and achievement 14–19 and driving down the skills deficit in the adult workforce. I reaffirmed our commitment to safeguard the funding for personal and community development learning in mainstream further education and local authority funded adult education (adult and community learning) with a budget of £210 million in 2006/7.
	I and ministerial colleagues have received representations on a number of issues, including enrolments and fees, from hon. and right hon. Members. We have also met with and received comments from the sector including principals and chief executives of colleges, other post-16 providers and from learners and representative organisations, including the Association of Colleges, the Local Government Association, the National Federation of Women's Institutes and the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE).
	We expect to have information available in the new year about the initial take-up of learning in 2005/06, and the Learning and Skills Council will publish this through a statistical first release in March 2006.

Adult Education/Vocational Courses

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will increase funding for (a) adult education and (b) vocational courses.

Bill Rammell: The Government's Skills Strategy, reaffirmed in the White Paper published on 22 March, sets clear priorities for public funding to support the drive to ensure that employers have the skills they need to be successful, and individuals have the skills they need to be employable and personally fulfilled. Funding for Further Education (FE) increased by 4.4 per cent. in 2005/06 Funding for non-vocational learning opportunities for adults, delivered mainly through local authority adult education services, has also increased. In 2004/05 we provided over £207 million to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in support of this learning. This has risen to £210 million in 2005/06.
	This funding will enable colleges and other providers to deliver a wide range of learning opportunities to meet the needs of adults in local communities but those who are able to do so will need to pay higher fees in the future. I set out the Government's priorities for the learning and skills sector and the impact on funding in 2006–07 and 2007–08 on 21 October and full details can be found in 'Priorities for Success' on the LSC's website.

Child Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects to be able to provide regulations to accompany the Childcare Bill.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 29 November 2005
	We aim to publish some illustrative regulations on the key provisions in the new year. We are aiming to publish papers describing our intentions in respect of the early years foundation stage and the registration requirements for the general childcare register so that the Childcare Bill Standing Committee has them available when it looks at the relevant provisions of the Bill. We will undertake a full consultation before regulations are finalised.

Children Act

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects to publish information collected under the provisions of section 12 of the Children Act 2004.

Beverley Hughes: Section 12 of the Children Act 2004 gives the Secretary of State the power to make regulations to require the establishment and operation of an information sharing index or indexes. The purpose of an index is to improve early intervention by children's services to help children with additional needs. An index helps professionals to quickly identify the child they are working with and the services the child is receiving. This enables the professional to contact others working with the child, so they can then, where appropriate, share information to improve the provision of services for that child. An index would also enable quicker identification of children not receiving services they are entitled to such as education and primary health care.
	In implementing any index approach, no information about any individual children would be published. The index would provide anonymised statistical information which might be used to assist with service planning and analysis at local and national level. Such information, when produced, would be publicly available, but we have no plans to produce or publish such information by a specific date.

Children's Centres

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects to announce which communities within (a) Gloucestershire and (b) Stroud will be nominated for the location of new children's centres.

Beverley Hughes: All local authorities have a target number of Sure Start Children's Centres and a target number of children under five to reach between 2006–08. Gloucestershire county council has been asked to develop 23 Sure Start Children's Centres to reach 18,291 children under five by March 2008. Decisions on the location of Sure Start Children's Centres and the communities to benefit from their services are a matter for local determination and will not be formally announced by my Department. Gloucestershire county council is expected to set out its plans for the location of their new children's centres by February 2006.

Consultants

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what mechanisms are in place to assess the effectiveness of consultant-led projects in her Department; what sanctions are available to penalise consultants who run unsuccessful projects; how many projects conducted by consultants were assessed as unsuccessful in each year since 2000; and what sanctions were imposed in each case.

Bill Rammell: The planning, monitoring, control and delivery of programmes and projects in DfES is the responsibility of departmental management, not consultants and, therefore, all of the Department's programmes and projects are led by senior civil servants (acting as programme/project senior responsible owners). Consultants are engaged to assist in the successful delivery of these programmes and projects, and are subject to a raft of commercial, financial, procurement, technical and, programme and project quality assurance and standards. Additionally, the Office of Government Commerce's Gateway(tm) review process provides assurance at critical stages of a programme's or project's lifecycle.
	Consultants who do not deliver the required services or advice to time, quality and cost, are subject to remedies appropriate to the shortcomings identified up to and including, as a last resort, contract termination and pursuit of damages.
	From information held centrally, the Department is unaware of any programmes or projects that, in the years since 2000, could merit classification as unsuccessful as a direct result of consultants failing to deliver on their contract. No records are held centrally of sanctions applied to consultants engaged on DfES-led programmes and projects, and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Tendering Policy

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her policy is on including (a) ethical and (b) environmental factors in tenders for services.

Bill Rammell: Department for Education and Skills (DfES) expects to let all its contracts in accordance with moral principles, and would consider any case where evidence to the contrary was presented.
	Environmental factors in contracts let by DfES have been considered on a case by case basis relative to the subject matter of the contract, and the requirements of European Union law.
	The Department will be making use of the Sustainable Procurement Toolkit" due to be issued shortly by DEFRA which will enhance further the consideration of environmental factors in public sector contracts.

Education Funding

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2005, Official Report, column 2075W, on education funding, what research was conducted to enable the decision to be made that (a) a basic food hygiene certificate, (b) emergency aid for appointed persons, (c) lifesaver for babies and children and (d) preparing for an emergency: The British Red Cross response courses have limited benefits in terms of progression for learners.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council conducted in depth analysis of learners attending very short courses. The analysis indicated that, in the case of the basic food hygiene, emergency aid for appointed persons, lifesaver for babies and children and the British Red Cross response courses, only 147 of the 31,260 learners enrolled in 2004/05 went on to further learning in that year.
	The Learning and Skills Council's document Priorities for Success" set out the Government's intention that in future, food hygiene and other health and safety courses taken by those in work should be fully funded by the employer wherever possible, in line with employers' statutory duty to meet the terms of relevant legislation. The LSC is consulting further on this proposition with key stakeholders. Where individuals are taking qualifications on their own account the expectation is that learners should cover the full cost, although colleges are of course still free to reduce or waive the course fee at their discretion. This is consistent with the principle set out in the Governments skills strategy that individuals should contribute more towards the cost of their learning in line with the benefits they receive. However, while the LSC will cease funding for very short courses below nine guided learning hours (excluding provision for personal and community development learning and learndirect courses), such learning may still continue if it is part of a larger programme that is more likely to lead to progression to further learning.

Extended School Services

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provisions are being made to support extended services in schools in Leeds, West constituency.

Beverley Hughes: On 13 June 2005 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced funding of £790 million over 2005–08 to support the development of extended services accessed in or through schools. £110 million of this was allocated in 2005–06 and Leeds local authority received £1,014,849. Of the £680 million to be allocated across 2006–08, £250 million will go direct to schools through the school standards grant and the formula for announcing each school's allocation for 2006–07 will be announced shortly. The remaining £430 million will be distributed to local authorities through the standards fund and the general sure start grant. Of this Leeds local authority will receive £2,144,841 in 2006–07 and £2,761,511 in 2007–08. Funding will be released to schools in accordance with each local authority's extended schools strategy.

Higher Education

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken by the Department to encourage graduates to work in higher education.

Bill Rammell: The responsibility for recruiting staff lies with higher education institutions (HEIs), as the employers. However, we have supported HEIs in developing their human resource capability through the rewarding and developing staff initiative (R and DS), which includes recruitment and retention as one of the priority areas for this funding. A recent evaluation carried out for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) by KPMG identified that about £72.9 million (of the total £370 million R and DS funding 2001–02 to 2003–04) had been spent on recruitment and retention.
	The Department has also implemented, through HEFCE, a Golden Hello" programme of funding to encourage new entrants into teaching shortage subjects. Each Golden Hello" is worth £9,000 to an individual, over three years.

Higher Education

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been allocated to (a) full-time foundation degrees, (b) all foundation degrees, (c) full-time undergraduates and (d) part-time undergraduates (i) in total, (ii) for 18 to 21-years-olds and (iii) for over 21-year olds-by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in (A) 2005–06, (B) 2006–07 and (C) 2007–08.

Bill Rammell: The Higher Education Council for England (HEFCE) funds higher education institutions (HEIs) by way of block grant, and it is for each HEI how they allocate this within their own organisation. However, the allocation to HEIs makes assumptions about the pattern of student recruitment at each institution, and HEFCE are able, therefore, to provide a notional split between different programmes.
	Figures for 2005–06 are shown in the following table. Although overall funding totals for the next two academic years were determined in the 2004 spending review, the allocation of this total between institutions is done annually by HEFCE, and allocations for years later than 2005–06 have yet to be made.
	It is not possible to provide a notional allocation of funding by age: this is not a factor in determining grant allocations.
	
		Notional HEFCE recurrent funding allocations for 2005–06
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Full-time and sandwich foundation degrees 103,910,188 
			 All foundation degrees 171,159,771 
			 Full-time and sandwich undergraduates 3,092,193,317 
			 Part-time undergraduates 609,424,576

Higher Education

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of Higher Education Funding Council for England funding has been allocated to (a) medical students and (b) dental students for (i) 2005–06, (ii) 2006–07 and (iii) 2007–08.

Bill Rammell: The Higher Education Council for England (HEFCE) funds higher education institutions (HEIs) by way of block grant, and it is for each HEI how they allocate this within their own organisation. However, the allocation to HEIs makes assumptions about the pattern of student recruitment at each institution, and HEFCE are able, therefore, to provide a notional split between different programmes.
	Figures for 2005–06 are shown in the following table, with overall allocations so that the proportion can be calculated. Although overall funding totals for the next two academic years were determined in the 2004 spending review, the allocation of this total between institutions is done annually by HEFCE, and allocations for years later than 2005–06 have yet to be made.
	
		2005–06 FTS undergraduate FTEs
		
			  Medicine Dentistry 
		
		
			  26,006 3,277 
			 Notional teaching grant for 2005–06 FTS UG FTEs(18) 255,920,856 37,828,961 
			
			 Notional WP grant: 7,473,950 954,824 
			 Full-time widening access 1,324,854 166,944 
			 Full-time improving retention 5,821,791 733,600 
			 Disability 327,306 54,280 
			
			 Total notional grant 263,394,806 38,783,784 
			
			 Proportion of teaching grant (percentage) 7 1 
		
	
	(18) Standard resource minus assumed fee income

Influenza Pandemic

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when her Department plans to issue interim advice regarding an influenza pandemic to local emergency planners in respect of schools.

Jacqui Smith: This Department is contributing to further government guidance that will be issued in due course. It will build on initial advice that was issued to Regional Resilience Directors last spring.

Law Students

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department plans to take in response to the recent report by the Higher Education Funding Council for England that ethnic minority candidates face a significantly lower chance of receiving an offer to study law.

Bill Rammell: The report Higher Education Admissions: Assessment of the Bias", by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) re-works a previous study from 2002 (based on 1996/07 data) that found that applicants from ethnic minorities were disadvantaged. It is good news that the re-examination of the data does not show the same biases in HE admissions as suggested by the original research. HEFCE did however find that ethnic minority applicants had lower chances of receiving an offer when applying to study law than would be expected given their predicted grades and other factors. A certain amount of caution needs to be attached to these findings, due to the age and other inadequacies of the data. It is important to look at what has happened more recently, and HEFCE's proposals for more research in this area will do so.
	It is not acceptable for any bias to be found for any subject or minority group. While admissions are the sole responsibility of institutions, the Government do have a legitimate interest in the fairness of the admissions process. That is why Professor Steven Schwartz was invited to lead an independent review of the HE admissions system. That review found that admissions processes are generally fair but established a number of underpinning principles that the sector has been encouraged to adopt. The Department, as requested by Professor Schwartz, plans to undertake a follow-up review of progress in 2007/08.
	Institutions must not be complacent and must strive to eradicate biases as they develop their fair admissions policies and practices. Research such as this and the follow-up work that HEFCE is recommending will help institutions address the problems identified.

Learning and Skills Council

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the implications for (a) the advice given to 16 to 18-year-olds and (b) the funding for the education of that age group of the restructuring of the Learning and Skills Council.

Bill Rammell: The LSC's proposed restructuring is designed to achieve better focus and more consistent delivery at a local level through the creation of 148 Local Partnership Teams. The provision of high quality advice and guidance will remain a key priority for the LSC, and the Local Partnership Teams will work with a range of partners, including services providing advice and guidance for 16 to 18-year-olds, to ensure an improved choice for learners. The LSC's funding priorities for 2006–07 and 2007–08 were published in its funding document Priorities for Success" on 21 October 2005. Priority will be given to increasing the numbers of 16 to 18-year-olds engaged in learning and achieving a worthwhile qualification. These funding proposals allow for a significant increase in volumes for this age group.

School Care (Disabled Children)

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how extended schools will cater for children with disabilities in (a) England, (b) Wakefield district and (c) Normanton constituency.

Beverley Hughes: This Government want all schools to provide access to a core offer of extended services by 2010, with half of all primary and a third of all secondary schools doing so by 2008. We have made clear that children with disabilities and special educational needs must be able to access all the services. The needs of children in particular schools and areas will vary. It will be for individual local authorities, in discussion with all schools in their area, to take a strategic approach to developing access to the core offer through schools. Schools will need to work closely with parents to ensure that services are shaped around the needs of children and the wider community.
	We are making funding available to all local authorities and schools up to 2008 to support them in setting up and embedding services in mainstream and special schools.

School Location

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of pupils attending state schools outside their own local education authority area each September since 2003.

Jacqui Smith: The information required to answer this question is not collected until January of each academic year. The information showing the position in the January of each year since 2002 is provided in the following table.
	
		Percentage of pupils attending maintained schools outside of the local authority in which they reside(19)
		
			  2002 2003 2004 2005 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Pupils resident in 
			 England 338,216 5.3 353,472 5.5 349,842 5.5 350,649 5.5 
			 North East 9,730 2.9 10,128 3.0 10,173 3.0 10,061 3.0 
			 North West 39,843 4.3 41,077 4.4 41,641 4.5 41,691 4.0 
			 Yorkshire and Number 20,337 3.0 20,916 3.1 21,159 3.1 21,209 3.2 
			 East Midlands 23,450 4.2 24,142 4.3 24,532 4.3 24,687 4.4 
			 West Midlands 38,860 5.3 39,709 5.4 40,094 5.5 40,331 5.6 
			 East of England 19,471 2.8 25,717 3.6 20,556 2.9 20,846 3.0 
			 London 121,914 14.3 125,576 14.6 125,130 14.5 124,579 14.5 
			 South West 22,935 3.8 23,370 3.8 23,459 3.8 23,939 4.4 
			 South East 41,676 4.2 42,837 4.3 43,098 4.4 43,306 4.6 
		
	
	(19) Attending maintained primary and secondary schools (including middle deemed), CTCs and academies.
	Source:
	Annual School Census 2002–2005 Final.

School Places

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children did not receive their first choice (a) primary and (b) secondary school place in each local education authority in the most recent year for which information is available.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 5 December 2005
	Information on pupils who did not receive their first choice of a primary or secondary school place is not collected centrally. Local authorities are required to co-ordinate admissions to secondary schools and, as a result of that process, many will have this information available for those that applied for entry in September 2005. Where co-ordination took place prior to 2005, it may also be available for those years. Local authorities are required to co-ordinate admissions to primary schools for entry in September 2006.

Specialist Language Schools

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) GCSE and (b) A level entries there were in modern languages from each specialist language school in each of the last 10 years, including years before the school acquired specialist status.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not readily available and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Truancy

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the levels of truancy were in (a) Lancashire and (b) England in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested on truancy in Lancashire 2002/03 to 2004/05 can be found as follows. 2004/05 data are provisional: they are currently in the process of being checked by schools and, therefore, may change as a result of this process.
	
		Percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised(20) absence in maintained schools
		
			  Primary schools Secondary Schools 
			  Lancashire England Lancashire England 
		
		
			 2003/04 0.31 0.43 0.82 1.07 
			 2004/05 0.32 0.41 0.88 1.13 
			 2005/06 0.34 0.43 0.95 1.25 
		
	
	(20) Unauthorised absence includes other forms of absence such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

Truancy

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to combat truancy.

Jacqui Smith: I refer my hon. Friend to the replies given on 2 November 2005, Official Report, column 1216W to a question from the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) and on 9 November 2005, Official Report, column 623W to a question from the hon. Members for Buckingham (John Bercow) and for Romford.
	In September 2005, I announced a drive against 'serial truants' in 146 secondary schools which account for one in five of all instances of unauthorised authorised absence across the country. This drive will provide an intensive package of support and challenge to truants and their families. We have now extended this drive to cover 200 secondary schools and an estimated 13,000 pupils.
	Key workers in the 200 schools and their local authorities will draw up an individual action plan and work with each truant to improve their school attendance. Where appropriate, truants and their families will be given co-ordinated support from children's services to tackle wider issues such as drugs, mental health or parenting skills that might be contributing to their truancy. Key workers will also consider referring parents of the most persistent truants onto the 'Fast Track to Attendance' scheme and, unless the youngster's attendance improves over a 12 week period, the parents will face a penalty notice or prosecution.

Under-achievement

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the provision of mentoring upon underachievement by children from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Beverley Hughes: The scope and understanding of mentoring practice appears to vary widely depending on the intended aims of the programme. By and large, mentoring appears to have benefits on achievement, and generally such schemes are directed at those from low socio-economic groups almost by definition.
	Our principle mentoring programme working with children from low socio-economic backgrounds is the learning mentor programme.
	Excellence in Cities (EiC) is a targeted programme of support for schools in deprived areas of the country. Learning mentors are part of this programme, described by Ofsted (2003) as:
	the most successful and highly valued strand of the EiC programme".
	Learning mentors are salaried non-teaching school support staff who work with school and college students and pupils to help them address barriers to learning. These barriers can be wide ranging and often very personal to the individual pupil. They include the need to develop better learning and study skills, personal organisation, difficulties at home, behaviour, bullying, or just general disaffection and disengagement from learning.
	At present it is estimated that around 6,000 learning mentors are working in the secondary sector and 4000 in primary, funded through excellence in cities (EiC) provision. The numbers will be higher than this as an increasing number are being employed outside of EiC areas.
	Learning mentors work with caseloads of pupils, largely on a 1:1 or small group basis, but also run clubs and drop ins". They liaise closely with teachers and other support professionals, and often act as a supportive link between the family and school. One to one support may include developing coping strategies, enhancing motivation, raising aspirations and encouraging re-engagement in learning, taking account of a range of complex underlying issues that may impact negatively on learning and achievement (e.g. bereavement, lack of confidence/low self-esteem, low aspirations, mental health issues, relationship difficulties, bullying, peer pressure, family issues/concerns).
	NFER (2004) Evaluation indicates positive impact of learning mentors on attainment outcomes for young people. Seeing a learning mentor was associated with a level of performance above that which might be anticipated from their prior attainment. In particular:
	In low performing schools, young people who had seen a learning mentor in a low-performing school performed an average of 0.15 GCSE points better than their peers who had not seen a mentor.
	In low performing schools, students with a learning mentor were also one and a half times more likely to have achieved five or more GCSEs at A* to C grades than young people with similar prior attainment and other characteristics who had not been mentored.
	In high performing schools, mentees were three times more likely to have achieved three or more GCSEs at A* than those who had not seen a learning mentor
	Regarding learning mentors' impact on behaviour, more than half of the identified group of 430 young people who had been mentored over two years demonstrated a positive change in either their attitudes (to school, to teachers and/or to learning) or their behaviour (in terms of improved attendance, punctuality and/ or completion of work).
	In addition to their impact on academic performance, Ofsted (2003) found that:
	Learning mentors are making a significant effect on the attendance, behaviour, self-esteem and progress of the pupils they support".
	Ofsted further reported that in 95 percent. of the survey schools, inspectors judged that the mentoring programme made a positive contribution to the mainstream provision of the school as a whole, and had a beneficial effect on the behaviour of individual pupils and on their ability to learn and make progress." (Ofsted 2003)
	The behaviour improvement programme (BiP) evaluation report by the university of London, published in November 2005, states that learning mentors were seen to fulfil one of the key roles in the programme and were highly valued by schools particularly at primary level. The BiP focuses on addressing behaviour and attendance issues in schools.
	There are additional forms of mentoring provided within schools which are not provided by school learning mentors (employed by the school/local authority) e.g. peer and voluntary mentoring. There is also the work carried out by the mentoring and befriending foundation (ttp://www.mandbf.org.uk/).

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops have been contributed by each country contributing troops to Operation Enduring Freedom; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The UK contributes around 340 troops to Operation Enduring Freedom. The majority are either part of the Harrier GR7 detachment based in Kandahar or are conducting preparations for a possible UK deployment to southern Afghanistan. In addition, we provide an Afghan National Army Training Team which trains the NCO cadre of the Afghan Army, and there are a number of staff officers in the Coalition HQ.
	The US provide information about other nations contributing troops and/or other support to Operation Enduring Freedom on the following website:
	http://www.centcom.mil/Operations/Coalition/joint.htm
	Any further information on numbers of troops currently deployed with Operation Enduring Freedom is a matter for the troop contributing nations.

Aircraft Carriers

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the value of the aircraft carrier programme will be given to Swan Hunter.

Adam Ingram: The decision on the ship build strategy for the two future aircraft carriers (CVF) and any associated contracts has yet to be taken but will form part of our main investment decision on CVF. This will happen when we are confident that the design is right, the contracts are right and we have sufficient understanding of cost, scheduling and risks involved.

Ammunition

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) type and (b) quantity of ammunition which was acquired from outside the United Kingdom in 2004–05; and what the source was in each case.

Adam Ingram: The information in the following table relates to general ammunition sourced directly from overseas for the financial year 2004–05. It does not include missiles, torpedoes or 'smart' munitions. The total figures provided amount to less than five per cent. of the volume of general ammunition purchased in 2004–05.
	
		
			 Description Country of origin Quantity 
		
		
			 Mortar Bomb 60mm HE L 4A1 Fuzed M9815 Austria 3,600 
			 Round 20mm Phalanx Mk 149 Mod 4 USA 60,000 
			 Rocket 84mm AT4 CS HP L2A1 (ILAW) Sweden 1,400 
			 Round 9mm Practice Tracer AT4 (ILAW) Sweden 350,000 
			 Round 7.65 x 17mm Ball Carton DM11A1 German 100 
			 Round 9mm Ball Carton (SX-2) Germany 400 
			 Round 9mm Plastic Blank Carton L2A1 Germany 170 
			 Round 9mm Simunition Blue (ISD 01) Canada 110 
			 Round 9mm Simunition Red (ISD 01) Canada 73 
			 Round 12.7mm Raufoss MP Carton L1A1 Norway 5,520 
			 Round 12.7mm Raufoss MP-T L3A1 Norway 3,000 
			 Round 12.7mm Raufoss AP Norway 17,640 
			 Round 12.7mm Raufoss AP L4A1 Norway 12,120 
			 Round 12.7mm Raufoss 4MP/1T LI A1/M17 Norway 15,500 
			 Round 12.7mm Raufoss 1MP/1MPT/1API Belted Norway 328,000 
			 Round 40x53mm Practice Impact Marker DM18 Germany 35,776 
			 Round 40x53mm HEDP S411 Linked Singapore 3,616 
			 Round 40x53mm Target Practice M946A2 South Africa 1,888 
			 Round 40x53mm Practice Tracer M9914A1 South Africa 2,176 
			 Mortar Bomb 60mm HE L4A1 Fuzed M9815 Austria 3,600 
			 Mortar Bomb 60mm Illuminating M721 Fuzed M776 USA 544 
			 14.5mm Artillery Training Round Germany 10,000 
			 105mm Illuminating Round Sweden 4,261 
			 Command Detonated Munition Claymore Ml8 USA 6,144 
			 Smoke Screening Grenade L84A2 Germany 30,240 
			 Rocket Motor GTR-18 Smokey SAM USA 3,024 
			 Generator Smoke Training N5 Mk1 Germany 11,100 
			 Round Anti-Riot L5A7 Germany 50,000 
			 Round Anti-Riot L21A1 Germany 267,276 
			 Attenuated Energy Projectile (AEP) L60A1 Germany 34,272 
		
	
	Details of ammunition sourced specifically for special forces have been omitted from the list for security reasons.

Army Uniform

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who is responsible for the purchase of mess dress for (a) Senior Non-Commissioned Officers and (b) Warrant Officers on promotion to that rank.

Don Touhig: Mess kit for Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) is not mandatory uniform and is therefore not provided at public expense.

AWE Orion Laser

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure that the plans for the AWE Orion Laser development at Aldermaston are tested by the normal planning process and that Crown immunity is not applied; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: Under Crown exemption from planning legislation, the Ministry of Defence does not submit planning applications. In their place we use a consultation process under DOE Circular 18/84 which largely mirrors the statutory planning system. It is our normal policy to support any development proposals with the same level of background information that would be required under the statutory planning system.
	The development at AWE Aldermaston is part of a scheduled programme of rebuilding works at the site. A range of background material has been submitted to West Berkshire council (the local planning authority) in support of these proposals mirroring the requirements placed on those which would be required of any private developer.

Chinooks

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place copies of the 14 annexes and nine enclosures listed on page 52 of the Chinook HC1 Airworthiness Review report, in the Library.

Adam Ingram: I have placed a copy of the requested annexes and enclosures in the Library of the House. Third party information not relevant to the request has been withheld, together with a very small amount of information that relates to information supplied by bodies dealing with security matters.

Chinooks

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when each of the source software codes necessary for testing the airworthiness of the Chinook HC2 and Chinook HC2a helicopters was provided to his Department by the manufacturers in the US.

Adam Ingram: Because of Intellectual Property Rights the source software codes have never been provided to the Ministry of Defence by the United States manufacturers.

Chinooks

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of all (a) reports, (b) documents and (c) memoranda produced by or on behalf of Boscombe Down in 1988 concerning software in the Chinook HC2 helicopter.

Adam Ingram: The mid-life update programme to produce the Chinook HC Mk 2 had not been initiated in 1988; there are therefore no relevant reports from Boscombe Down produced in that year.

Departmental Tendering Policy

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on including (a) ethical and (b) environmental factors in tenders for services.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence and the armed forces exist to defend the United Kingdom and its interests. MOD policy on procurement of goods, works and services will support sustainable development, including its environmental and social aspects, within the framework of the Government's procurement policy and its overarching aim of achieving value for money, and the EC procurement rules.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of the Falklands garrison has been in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The costs of maintaining the garrison in the Falklands for each of the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2004–05 113.1 
			 2003–04 110.6 
			 2002–03 119.8 
			 2001–02 115.3 
			 2000–01 143.4 
		
	
	The reduction in costs from 2001–02 onwards is attributable, for the most part, to an adjustment to the accounts to reflect revaluations, resulting in a permanent diminution in the value of fixed assets.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many landmines in the Falkland Islands have been cleared in the last 10 years.

Adam Ingram: Under the Ottawa Convention, the United Kingdom is required to clear all anti-personnel mines from its territory by March 2009. The only UK territory affected is the Falkland Islands. At present, only those landmines that are close to perimeter fences and may pose a danger to the civilian community are cleared. Within the last ten years, 274 anti-personnel mines and 69 anti-vehicle mines in this category have been destroyed.

Fire Fighting Duties

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what powers the Government have authorised the employment of members of the armed forces for fire fighting duties in the East Midlands area; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 November 2005
	There has been no recent strike in East Midlands; the hon. Member probably intended to refer to the current strike in West Midlands. Section 2 of the Emergency Powers Act 1964 provides the statutory basis for deployment of members of the armed forces on non-military tasks. This enables the Secretary of State for Defence to authorise, through issue of a Defence Council Order, deployment of members of the armed forces on 'urgent work of national importance'. The deployment of armed forces personnel to provide emergency fire cover in the West Midlands was authorised by Defence Council Order on 7 November 2005 following a request from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, in support of a request from the Chief Fire Officer of the West Midlands.

Flight Lieutenant MacDonald

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost to public funds has been to date of the court case Flight Lieutenant MacDonald v. Ministry of Defence.

Don Touhig: To date the Ministry of Defence's legal costs in the case involving Mr. MacDonald are £169,700 which includes counsel's fees. These costs reflect the legal complexity of the case brought by Mr. MacDonald.
	Mr. MacDonald claimed he had been discriminated against unlawfully on grounds of sex, contrary to the Equal Treatments Directive 76/207/EEC and Section 6 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1976. On appeal to the House of Lords, the Law Lords handed down a unanimous judgment in favour of the Ministry of Defence on 19 June 2003 rejecting Mr. MacDonald's challenge to the interpretation of the Sex Discrimination Act 1976.
	All attempts to settle the matter, including the offer to Mr. MacDonald to rejoin the Royal Air Force, have so far been unsuccessful.

Future Aircraft Carrier

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the latest dates would be to sign a main gate contract for the first Future Aircraft Carrier in order for it to be able to enter service in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014, (d) 2015 and (e) 2016.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 6 December 2005
	We are in discussion with companies over the details of the way in which the future aircraft carriers will be built and, the costs and the time-scales involved. While those discussions are ongoing, and until we have signed manufacturing contracts, which will be after the main investment decision, we are not prepared to speculate on in-service dates.

Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary) Project

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on the second vessel to be built by Swan Hunter as part of the landing ships dock (auxiliary) project; and when he expects it to begin sea trials.

Adam Ingram: Outfitting activities (for example, architectural work, furniture, pipework and deck coverings) on RFA Lyme Bay are continuing and sea trials are scheduled to commence in late 2006.

Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) available payload and (b) personnel capacity will be of the (i) armoured and (ii) unarmoured Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle when fitted with Bowman.

Adam Ingram: PANTHER is only being procured as an armoured Command and Liaison Vehicle. The BOWMAN fit is designed to provide a range of configurations to meet the needs of the User. PANTHER has been designed to be operated with a minimum crew of two, however it has the capacity to carry a crew of four in some roles. The payload capacity after fitting BOWMAN varies between 590kg and 1100kg, dependant upon configuration and functionality such as the Overhead Weapon Station.

Puma

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the Airworthiness Review report into the Puma aircraft.

Adam Ingram: I have today placed copies of the Puma Airworthiness Review report from March 1996 into the Library of the House. Third party information not relevant to the request has been withheld.

RAF Bases

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will undertake a comprehensive strategic review of the defence capability of the 50 national defence airfields.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 November 2005, Official Report, column 2055W.

Royal Navy

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will designate a new Royal Navy ship with the name HMS Shrewsbury.

Adam Ingram: The Ships Names and Badges Committee has the task of assessing all the possible names for new ships before making their recommendation through the First Sea Lord and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence for final approval by Her Majesty the Queen.
	The new class of Royal Navy destroyers (the type 45 or D class) are to bear names beginning with the letter 'D', so Shrewsbury cannot be a candidate for any of these. Similarly, the names for the new astute class of submarine will all begin with the letter 'A'. However, I shall ensure that Shrewsbury, of which there have been three ships previously with the name, who earned four battle honours, is among the names considered for future suitable vessels.

Service Medical Personnel

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service medical personnel are deployed in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: There are currently 240 UK medical personnel (health professionals) serving in Iraq and 12 in Afghanistan. These figures exclude Regimental Medical Assistants, who deliver first line medical care within their own regiments.

Service Schools

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether children in service schools are tested and assessed in a way comparable to state schools.

Don Touhig: All service children's education (SCE) schools follow the statutory requirements and guidance on the national curriculum assessment arrangements as outlined in the Education Act 2000. This includes assessing pupils for the foundation stage profile and attainment at the end of all key stages. Older pupils undertake GCSE and A" level examinations in common with English state schools.

Service Schools

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the (a) test and (b) examination results of pupils at service schools are published; and whether pupils' records are transferred when they move into the state sector.

Don Touhig: All performance data on Service Children's Education (SCE) Agency schools is published internally to schools and the Agency Owner's Board, on which the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is represented. In addition, SCE Head teachers are responsible for ensuring that a written report is provided to all parents, detailing their individual child's performance. Information on the overall performance of the school is also provided directly to parents by way of a formal Annual Report. As SCE does not come under the jurisdiction of the DfES, SCE's school results are not included in the 'Achievement and Attainment Tables' published by that Department. However, the overall performance of the Agency against its Key Targets, which includes achievement at Key Stages 1 to 3 and GCSE and 'A' level, is published each year in the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
	SCE schools follow the statutory requirement to send specified pupil records to the receiving school. This is the case for all pupils moving to either a local education authority (LEA) maintained or independent school.

Trident

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 124W, on Trident, if he will ensure that opportunities are provided for full and informed public and parliamentary debate prior to decisions being made on a replacement for the United Kingdom's Trident nuclear missile capability.

John Reid: The issue of the possible replacement of Trident has been raised on numerous occasions in the House of Commons, most recently during defence questions on 14 November and the 'Defence in the UK' debate on 17 November. I also discussed this issue with the House of Commons Defence Committee on 1 November.
	Although decisions are likely to be necessary in the current Parliament they are still some way off and there will be many further opportunities for Parliament to debate the issue. It is too early to say what further formal or informal procedures might be used to underpin future decision-making by the Government in this area.

White Phosphorus

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the use of white phosphorus by the British Army.

John Reid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in another place on 29 November 2005, Official Report, column WA23, by my noble Friend Lord Drayson, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence Procurement.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Appointments

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the date of appointment was of each member of the (a) Civil Renewal Practitioners Group, (b) Criminal Records Bureau Consultative Panel, (c) Insurance Cover Working Group, (d) Race Equality Advisory Panel, (e) Steering Group on the Lawrence Enquiry Action Plan, (f) Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet, (g) Correctional Services Accreditation Panel, (h) Animal Procedures Committee, (i) Police Arbitration Panel, (j) Surveillance Commissioners, (k) Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel, (l) Asylum Support Adjudicators, (m) Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, (n) Independent Police Complaints Commission and (o) Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner; what the length of appointment is in each case; how much has been claimed in expenses by each person; and what the cost of each body was in (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05.

Charles Clarke: The information requested will be placed in the Library.

Asylum/Immigration

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many families subject to the pilot implementation of section 9 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 (a) are being supported as a family and (b) are receiving support for children only from their local authority.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 21 November 2005
	I have not been informed of any cases where, following a withdrawal of support by NASS because of lack of co-operation on a voluntary return, the local authority has made a formal decision to support the family as a unit.
	There are a number of cases where a local authority is accommodating a family temporarily, pending an assessment of the children's needs under the Children Act. There are three cases where a local authority has decided to provide support to cover the children's needs only.

Asylum/Immigration

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of housing asylum seekers in (a) London, (b) Havering and (c) Romford was in the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The information is not available in the precise format requested. Information on the costs of providing accommodation to asylum seekers supported directly by NASS for the years 2000–01—2003–04 is provided in the following table. Annual payments to local authorities by NASS from 1999–2000 can be found at:
	http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en/home/applying/national_asylum_support/stakeholders/finance.html
	We are unable to provide information on the amount of grant used to pay for accommodation.
	
		Costs of accommodation for asylum seekers supported directly by MASS
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year Expenditure on dispersal accommodation Expenditure on emergency (initial) accommodation Total expenditure 
		
		
			 2000–01 115 n/a 115 
			 2001–02 247 n/a 247 
			 2002–03 319 107 426 
			 2003–04 343 96 439 
		
	
	n/a=Not available

Asylum/Immigration

Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been prosecuted for document infringements under the rules introduced by the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.

Tony McNulty: Section 2(1) of the Asylum and Immigration (treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004 makes it an offence for a person not to have, at a leave or asylum interview, an immigration document which is in force and which satisfactorily establishes his identity and nationality or citizenship. The offence contained in Section two is not included in the list of offences covered by Section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
	The figures for prosecutions could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, according to locally collated management information, which may be subject to change, there have been 350 convictions under Section two of the Asylum & Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004 since it came into force on 22 September 2004 until 20 October 2005.

Council Tax Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate the Government has made of the number of people fined in England and Wales since 1997 for intentionally delaying or obstructing a Valuation Office Agency representative who is conducting a council tax valuation inspection.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather) on 23 November 2005, Official Report, column 2066W.
	No such fine has been invoked to date.

Basic Command Unit Fund

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the Basic Command Unit Fund funding stream from the Government Office for London was made available to the London borough of Croydon in 2004–05.

Hazel Blears: The Government Office for London was allocated £9,995,862 from the Basic Command Unit Fund in 2004–05, of which £352,141 was made available to the London borough of Croydon.

Cannabis Possession

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) arrested and charged with and (b) convicted of cannabis possession in (i) the Southend Police Authority area and (ii) each other police authority area in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The available information relates to the number of police cautions and court convictions within each police force area.
	
		Table 1: Persons cautioned for cannabis possession offences in England and Wales by police force area, 1999–2003
		
			 Number of persons 
			 Police force area 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 England  
			 Avon and Somerset 1,189 916 992 1,198 1,178 
			 Bedfordshire 307 282 391 112 62 
			 Cambridgeshire 556 452 438 418 342 
			 Cheshire 564 445 458 384 447 
			 Cleveland 441 310 257 316 352 
			 Cumbria 602 474 440 422 403 
			 Derbyshire 461 316 263 135 115 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,252 1,106 1,029 967 1,064 
			 Dorset 388 438 323 328 373 
			 Durham 85 357 449 500 437 
			 Essex 907 700 619 701 688 
			 Gloucestershire 554 615 567 597 558 
			 Greater Manchester 2,267 1,765 1,717 1,780 1,959 
			 Hampshire 1,341 1,150 1,156 1,154 1,284 
			 Hertfordshire 548 561 576 629 625 
			 Humberside 433 350 369 327 436 
			 Kent 1,254 994 1,016 1,017 844 
			 Lancashire 1,367 1,226 1,011 1,034 1,221 
			 Leicestershire 448 370 294 107 410 
			 Lincolnshire 138 62 263 268 257 
			   
			 London  
			 City of London 258 197 359 488 518 
			 Metropolitan Police 12,432 9,804 8,768 11,246 10,637 
			   
			 Merseyside 1,963 1,201 975 1,200 1,198 
			 Norfolk 543 448 390 419 341 
			 Northamptonshire 509 432 421 523 453 
			 Northumbria 2,282 1,921 2,073 2,573 2,583 
			 North Yorkshire 422 194 61 57 37 
			 Nottinghamshire 549 557 560 526 748 
			 South Yorkshire 1,154 487 457 503 539 
			 Staffordshire 528 739 956 1,297 1,230 
			 Suffolk 539 422 369 507 537 
			 Surrey 686 670 768 820 776 
			 Sussex 1,014 909 1,095 1,368 1,188 
			 Thames Valley 716 962 731 1,043 989 
			 Warwickshire 411 326 310 338 501 
			 West Mercia 972 1,011 1,028 1,101 1,009 
			 West Midlands 2,497 2,206 2,127 2,479 2,815 
			 West Yorkshire 1,362 1,017 851 1,192 1,202 
			 Wiltshire 498 472 293 212 294 
			   
			 Wales  
			 Dyfed Powys 849 719 966 1,436 1,459 
			 Gwent 1,041 773 800 691 683 
			 North Wales 793 613 657 816 844 
			 South Wales 975 1,071 1,010 722 940

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 1 November from the hon. Member for Walsall, North regarding a constituent: reference: A1102564.

Tony McNulty: I replied to my hon. Friend on 6 December.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister of State for Immigration will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of 12 July 2005 on behalf of Samreen Mahmood (nee Akhtar) (Home Office Reference M1254489/correspondence reference B16243/5).

Tony McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to my right hon. Friend on 5 December 2005.

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward proposals to amend section 34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to permit the courts to draw adverse inferences from the failure to mention facts in post-charge interviews for terror-related offences.

Hazel Blears: A detainee may not be interviewed about an offence after they have been charged with it or informed that they will be prosecuted for it unless the interview is necessary for the reasons set out in paragraph 16.5 of PACE Code C (Detention, treatment and questioning of persons by police officers).
	We are considering whether such provision best suits the needs of achieving a successful outcome to an investigation and intend to publish a consultation paper on this issue in spring 2006. That paper will also consider the existing caution provided for in Code C, paragraph 16.5 and the potential for extending that to the caution given to a suspect during the pre-charge of the investigation.

Deaths in Custody

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people died while in the custody of the Essex Police Force in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: The total number of deaths in each of the last five years of people who have died during or following police contact is shown at annex A.
	
		Annex A
		
			  Fatal road accidents Fatal shootings In or following police custody Other types of police contact 
		
		
			 1999–2000 0 0 0 0 
			 2001–02 0 0 0 0 
			 2002–03 2 0 1 1 
			 2003–04 2 0 1 0 
			 2004–05 2 0 0 0

Deportees

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 40W, on deportees, whether the two individuals to which the Answer refers opposed the relevant extradition requests.

Tony McNulty: The individual who was surrendered to Italy in 2002 did not oppose the decision to surrender him by way of Habeas Corpus, but did submit limited representations against his return. He also gave notice of his intention to seek a judicial review of the Secretary of State's decision to order extradition, but did not do so.
	The individual who was surrendered to the Netherlands in July 2005 consented at the extradition hearing.

Domestic Violence

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding has been made available to support victims of domestic violence and their children in each year since 1997 in (a) England and (b) the Tees Valley.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information is as follows:
	(a) Between 1999–2000 and 2003–04 the Home Office allocated funding for victims of domestic violence and their children through the violence against women (VAW) initiative within the crime reduction programme.
	The allocated budget for England and Wales was: 2000–01—£5,000,000, 2001–02—£7,092,000, 2002–03—£6,355,000, 2003–04—£7,145,000 (£6 million allocated to VAW and £1 million allocated to a national awareness raising campaign. £145,000 was allocated for domestic violence victims with no recourse to public funds. 2004–05—£1,650,000 (£1.1 million allocated to regional directors fund for local delivery of support for victims of domestic violence and their children and £50,000 was allocated to implement the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. £500,000 was allocated to a national awareness raising campaign. 2005–06—£1,500,000 other Government Departments also fund support for domestic violence victims and their children. For example, the supporting people programme provides housing-related support for victims and their children.
	The spending on this programme is as follows: 2003–04—£57 million, 2004–05—£56.9 million estimated spend also, in 2003 the Government announced major investment in refuge provision in England in 2003–06. A total of £32.1 million capital has been allocated. Specifically relating to children of domestic violence victims, the 2004 Spending Review provided the Sure Start Unit with additional investment of £769 million by 2007–08 to 'provide additional childcare support for at least 2,000 particularly disadvantaged children.
	(b) The North East Region only began receiving funding for domestic violence from 2001 when the violence against women initiative commenced. The Tees Valley area comprises four CDRP/local authority areas. Funding for domestic violence within the Tees Valley is as follows: 2001–03—Middlesbrough was successful in bidding in the second tranche of violence against women initiative funding for £389,385 which was used to fund a successful one stop shop project—My Sister's Place which provides direct access, support and information to women experiencing or affected by domestic violence. 2003–04—Middlesbrough, was granted an additional year's funding of £57,802 from the VAW programme to continue My Sister's Place. During the same year Cleveland police were allocated £60,000. 2004–05—A total of £60,000 was allocated to the four areas to develop and pilot a perpetrator programme. 2005–06—£60,000 was allocated to continue and roll out the perpetrator programme to other localities in the Tees Valley area.

Drug Interventions Programme

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which areas are covered by the Drug Interventions Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) provides a route out of crime and into treatment for drug misusing offenders, using their contact with the Criminal Justice System as an opportunity to engage them in treatment and support. The intensive elements of the programme, which include testing for class A drugs on charge for certain trigger offences, are operational in 97 basic command units (BCUs) (67 Drug Action Teams) within England and three drug/alcohol partnerships in Wales. Other key elements of DIP are delivered in all areas of England and are being rolled out in Wales.
	The intensive areas are listed in table 1. Since the programme began, over 31,000 drug misusing offenders have entered treatment through DIP. Latest figures show that over 2,000 DIP clients entered treatment in October 2005 and that the programme is on course to achieving the target of 1,000 offenders per week entering treatment by March 2008.
	From 1 December, the police in Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire police force areas, are able to test for class A drugs on arrest for certain trigger offences as an alternative to on charge for those who test positive and require them to attend an assessment with a drug worker. These new powers will be expanded further on 31 March 2006. Acquisitive crime—to which drug related crime makes a substantial contribution—is going down and fell by 12 per cent. in the year to April 2005.
	
		Table 1: DIP intensive areas
		
			 Police force DAT 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset Bristol 
			   
			 Bedfordshire Bedfordshire 
			   
			 Cambridgeshire Peterborough 
			   
			 Cleveland Hartlepool 
			  Middlesbrough 
			  Stockton 
			   
			 Greater Manchester Police Bolton 
			  Bury 
			  Manchester 
			  Oldham 
			  Rochdale 
			  Salford 
			  Stockport 
			  Tameside 
			  Trafford 
			  Wigan 
			   
			 Gwent Newport 
			   
			 Humberside Hull 
			  North Lincolnshire 
			  North East Lincolnshire 
			   
			 Leicestershire Leicester 
			   
			 Merseyside Liverpool 
			   
			 Metropolitan Police Brent 
			  Camden 
			  Croydon 
			  Ealing 
			  Enfield 
			  Greenwich 
			  Hackney 
			  Hammersmith and Fulham 
			  Haringey 
			  Hounslow 
			  Islington 
			  Kensington and Chelsea 
			  Lambeth 
			  Lewisham 
			  Newham 
			  Redbridge 
			  Southwark 
			  Tower Hamlets 
			  Waltham Forest 
			  Wandsworth 
			  Westminster 
			   
			 Northamptonshire Northamptonshire 
			   
			 Northumbria Gateshead 
			  Newcastle-upon-Tyne 
			  Sunderland 
			   
			 North Wales Colwyn Bay 
			   
			 Nottinghamshire Nottingham City 
			  Nottinghamshire 
			   
			 South Wales Cardiff 
			  Swansea 
			   
			 South Yorkshire Barnsley 
			  Doncaster 
			  Rotherham 
			  Sheffield 
			   
			 Thames Valley Oxfordshire 
			  Reading 
			  Slough 
			   
			 West Midlands Birmingham 
			  Coventry 
			  Dudley 
			  Sandwell 
			  Solihull 
			  Walsall 
			  Wolverhampton 
			   
			 West Yorkshire Bradford 
			  Calderdale 
			  Kirklees 
			  Leeds 
			  Wakefield

ECHR and ECJ Judgments

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which domestic laws have been amended following judgment against the UK by the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice in the last 10 years.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

EU Travel Bans

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to the answer of 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1748W, on EU travel bans, what mechanisms exist for (a) the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and (b) his Department to monitor compliance with travel bans.

Tony McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate and the Sanctions Unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office liaise closely to ensure that the UK complies with its international obligations in respect of travel bans. Details of all those subject to EU, and UN, travel bans are placed on appropriate databases.
	These databases are updated regularly and are available to UK immigration officials responsible for ensuring that those excluded individuals are refused leave to enter or remain in the UK. Section 8B(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 ensures that any leave to enter or remain in the UK is cancelled on becoming an excluded person.

Hunting

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports he has received of breaches of the Hunting Act 2004; and what steps were taken in response.

Hazel Blears: The investigation of reported breaches of the Hunting Act 2004 is a matter for the police. The Association of Chief Police Officers has issued guidance for police forces on the practical aspects of enforcing the Act and a training package.

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has conducted (a) research studies and (b) tests on the prevention of data leakage of contactless technology via skimming and eavesdropping in relation to the identity card scheme.

Andy Burnham: The identity card scheme will secure information on the identity card through a number of methods, including the use of anti-skimming technology. The identity cards programme has reviewed technical methodologies for anti-skimming measures for contactless cards which are compliant with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommendations for machine-readable travel documents. It is also working with the Communications Electronics Security Group (CESG) as part of setting requirements for card and chip design. Ultimately, before the identity card can be launched, any card used by the scheme will undergo a full security accreditation to ensure that it is capable of protecting sensitive data to the appropriate level.

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the (a) total and (b) net cost of (i) integrating the proposed identity card scheme into his Department's IT systems and (ii) the ongoing operation of the scheme within his Department.

Andy Burnham: The Home Office has developed its current best estimate of the cost of using the ID cards scheme to support the services which it oversees and these costs have been incorporated into the business case. The Ministerial Committee on Identity Cards which oversees the work on benefits planning and realisation, is chaired by my hon. Friend the Minister of State Tony McNulty and I represent the interests of Home Office and the services it oversees on the Committee.
	In deriving these estimates account has to be taken of current and planned levels of investment in similar or related technologies and the types of use required to support the particular services which the Home Office oversees. Not all services will require a high degree of integration between the ID cards scheme and other IT systems. Where there may be a need for integration, some costs can be absorbed into the usual cycles of system upgrades and technology refreshes.
	We cannot release the detailed estimated costs for integrating IT systems and the ongoing operation of the identity cards scheme within the Home Office and the services which it oversees at this stage as these elements may be acquired from the market. The estimates are therefore commercially sensitive and to release them may prejudice the procurement process and the Department's ability to obtain value for money from potential suppliers.

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has conducted (a) research studies and (b) tests in accordance with national standards on basic access control on the durability of contactless chips and cards when they are subjected to regular swiping in order to disclose information kept on the card in relation to the identity card scheme.

Andy Burnham: The Identity Cards programme has conducted a review of studies into the use and durability of contactless chips and cards suitable for use in an identity cards scheme as well as wide-ranging market sounding survey to gain the views of a cross section of suppliers in the smartcard value chain.
	This survey concluded that a ten year life for a contactless card was feasible. It should be noted that swiping, to enable basic access control, is only likely to be required when the card is used as an international travel document. Indeed, more recent reader technologies use a camera to read the machine readable characters on a card or passport and therefore do not require the document to be swiped.

International Arrest Warrants

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 596W, to questions on international arrest warrants, 
	(1)  if he will consult (a) Parliament and (b) parties with an interest in the issuing of arrest warrants in international cases other than the Israeli Government on the issues raised by the case of General Almog;
	(2)  what changes to the procedure of dealing with arrest warrants in international cases are under consideration; and whether changes to the issuing of proposed arrest warrants in international cases will be reported to Parliament before a decision is made.

Andy Burnham: The Government are carefully considering the implications of this case. Procedures for issuing warrants in such cases are governed by section 25(2) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. Any future proposals for amending this legislation would be submitted to Parliament in the usual way and would be open to public scrutiny.

KPMG Review

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer to question no. 19871, whether the Government plan to publish (a) the review of the recommendations of the KPMG report and (b) the Government's proposed actions arising therefrom; and when he expects the outcomes to be announced.

Andy Burnham: The summary of KPMG's report and the Home Office's proposed actions arising from it were both published on the 9 November 2005. As the results of further iterations of the cost estimates are published the Government will make clear where they have acted on the recommendations.

Migrant Workers

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of migrant workers to the UK from the EU's new accession countries are women.

Tony McNulty: The accession monitoring report for May 2004—September 2005 sets out the number of citizens from East European member states of the EU who have applied for registration with the worker registration scheme during this period. This report is available on the Home Office website:
	via:http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en/home/0/reports/accession_monitoring.htm
	Section three of the report, Age and Gender of Registered Workers", shows that during the period May 2004 to September 2005, 43 percent. of the migrants from the new EU member states who applied for registration with the scheme were women.
	This proportion has varied over the period. During the first quarter after accession the proportion of women applying for registration was 47 percent. During the second quarter of 2005 the proportion was 40 percent.

Passport Costs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of (a) a standard (32 page) passport, (b) a frequent traveller (48 page) passport, (c) a child passport (five years validity) and (d) an emergency passport was in each year since 1980.

Andy Burnham: Passport fees relating to each year since 1980 are set out in the following table. The fees are those which were appropriate at 1 January each year. An emergency same day service was only introduced from November 2001 and five year child passports were introduced in October 1998, the table below reflects the price of amending a parents passport before 1999. The decrease in frequent traveller costs in 1991 was due to a reduction in book size from 94 pages to 48.
	
		£
		
			  Adult standard Adult same day Adult frequent traveller Child 
		
		
			 1980 11.00 — 22.00 — 
			 1981 11.00 — 22.00 — 
			 1982 11.00 — 22.00 — 
			 1983 11.00 — 22.00 — 
			 1984 15.00 — 30.00 4.00 
			 1985 15.00 — 30.00 4.00 
			 1986 15.00 — 30.00 4.00 
			 1987 15.00 — 30.00 4.00 
			 1988 15.00 — 30.00 4.00 
			 1989 15.00 — 30.00 4.00 
			 1990 15.00 — 30.00 4.00 
			 1991 15.00 — 30.00 4.00 
			 1992 15.00 — 22.50 4.00 
			 1993 18.00 — 27.00 5.00 
			 1994 18.00 — 27.00 5.00 
			 1995 18.00 — 27.00 5.00 
			 1996 18.00 — 27.00 5.00 
			 1997 18.00 — 27.00 5.00 
			 1998 18.00 — 27.00 5.00 
			 1999 21.00 — 31.00 11.00 
			 2000 28.00 — 38.00 14.80 
			 2001 28.00 — 38.00 14.80 
			 2002 30.00 75.00 40.00 16.00 
			 2003 33.00 75.00 40.00 16.00 
			 2004 42.00 89.00 54.50 25.00 
			 2005 42.00 89.00 54.50 25.00

Penalty Notices

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many penalty notices for disorder have been issued for (a) theft and (b) criminal damage in each month since November 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Offences under section one of the Theft Act 1968, for retail theft under the value of £200 and section 1(1) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971, for destroying or damaging property under the value of £500 can attract a Penalty Notice for Disorder. Both offences were included into the PND scheme from 1 November 2004. The numbers of penalty notices issued by month are provided in the following table.
	
		Number of penalty notices for disorder issued for certain offences by month, England and Wales, November 2004 to July 2005(21)
		
			   Year/month Destroying or damaging property (under £500)  Theft (retail under £200) 
		
		
			 2004   
			 November 451 873 
			 December 651 1,145 
			
			 20051   
			 January 579 1,036 
			 February 736 1,292 
			 March 767 1,657 
			 April 802 1,668 
			 May 924 1,741 
			 June 899 1,649 
			 July 934 1,499 
			 Total 5,641 10,542 
		
	
	(21) Data for 2005 are provisional
	Source:
	RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Police Reorganisation

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what secondary legislation will need to be passed in order to facilitate the proposed amalgamation of police forces.

Hazel Blears: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire on 22 November 2005, Official Report, column 1930W.

Ports

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government have to increase the number of UK ports which are manned by immigration staff 24 hours a day.

Tony McNulty: Immigration coverage of international flight arrivals is based upon a range of factors, including the nature and frequency of traffic and the numbers of passengers requiring leave to enter at each port. There are currently 41 manned ports, of which 16 are staffed 24 hours a day. Other ports are covered on a risk assessed basis. Officers are deployed to unmanned ports to meet specific arrivals where necessary.
	The provision of advance passenger information by carriers under the e-Borders programme will increase the Border Agencies' ability to conduct risk assessments and deploy resources in a targeted manner. There are currently no plans to extend the number of UK ports which are manned 24 hours a day. We are however extending the Immigration Service mobile response capacity, based on intelligence, to respond to any new or emerging threats.

Ports

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government have in place to record people who leave the UK through (a) UK ports, (b) UK airports and (c) the Channel Tunnel.

Tony McNulty: UK Immigration Service checks at the embarkation control were put in place at key locations as an immediate response to the July attacks in support of the police. Since 15 September the Immigration service has operated intelligence led controls at major ports and this situation will continue in the medium term. In the longer term IND plans to introduce an electronic system of recording travellers in and out of the UK as part of the e-Borders programme.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made towards the establishment of the new centre for child protection on the internet affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: On 1 April 2005, the Home Secretary announced plans to create a new national centre to protect children from sexual exploitation and combat online child abuse. This new centre will be called Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and is on track to open on 1 April 2006.
	The centre will take over the existing functions of the National Crime Squad (NCS) Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) and the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) Serious Sex Offenders' Unit (SSOU) and those functions of the NCS National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) that are focused on tackling online child abuse. It will also deliver a range of new functions. The new centre will:—receive, assess and disseminate intelligence on paedophiles and other serious sex offenders;—undertake proactive investigations into high risk targets. This will include targeting travelling sex offenders and seizing the assets from those who profit from the trade in indecent images;—provide a 24/7 cybertip line for reporting online child abuse;—deliver innovative crime prevention and crime reduction initiatives to reduce the harm caused by online abuse.
	This will include public awareness and education campaigns;—manage the national database of child abuse images; and—provide information, advice, training and support. This includes specialist advice and guidance to law enforcement.
	The centre will be affiliated to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and included in the SOCA governance arrangements but will have full operational autonomy. We know the only way to tackle these issues effectively is in partnership. Putting the different experts together for the first time in an operational centre will allow us to make a step change in the work we do to protect children.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the objectives are of (a) the chair, (b) the director general designate and (c) each of the four executive directors of the Serious Organised Crime Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, the functions of the Serious Organised Crime Agency are to: (a) prevent and detect serious organised crime, and (b) contribute to the reduction of such crime in other ways and to the mitigation of its consequences, and it is the objective of the chair and the director general to deliver them. The objectives of each of the four executive directors is an operational matter for the director general designate.

Stop and Search

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the London boroughs which have established a local monitoring group to scrutinise the use of stop and search and stop and account; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Metropolitan Police Authority have informed me that 23 London boroughs have indicated that they have established a local monitoring group to scrutinise the use of stop and search and stop and account. The 23 boroughs are detailed in the following list.
	Borough
	Barking and Dagenham
	Bexley
	Brent
	Bromley
	Camden
	City of Westminster
	Croydon
	Ealing
	Greenwich
	Hackney
	Haringey
	Islington
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Kingston upon Thames
	Lambeth
	Lewisham
	Merton
	Newham
	Redbridge
	Southwark
	Sutton
	Tower Hamlets
	Wandsworth

Terrorism Bill (Police Lobbying)

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the police forces which recommended that judicial oversight be sought during pre-trial detention every seven days, referred to by the Prime Minister on 7 November.

Hazel Blears: The content of the Terrorism Bill was discussed with the Metropolitan police, which has lead responsibility for terrorism matters, and ACPO, which speaks on behalf of all police forces in England and Wales.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Fire Training

Lynne Jones: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many (a) hon. Members, (b) hon. Members' staff and (c) other staff working in the Palace of Westminster have attended fire training in each of the last three years; and what proportion of the total this represents in each case.

Nick Harvey: Over the last three years the numbers attending fire safety awareness training were as follows:
	
		
			  Members Members staff Staff of both Houses and contractors working on the estate 
		
		
			 2003–04
			 Number 1 30 1,386 
			 Percentage 0.3 2.72 54 
			 
			 2004–05
			 Number 62 223 1,967 
			 Percentage 10 20.2 93 
			 
			 2005–06 to date
			 Number 0 11 840 
			 Percentage — 1 39 
		
	
	Further training will be carried out in 2005–06.

Parliamentary Estate (Lighting)

Peter Law: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone) of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 571W, on light bulbs, whether the Commission plans to increase the use of energy efficient (a) fluorescent tubes and (b) lamps used on the parliamentary estate to 100 per cent.

Nick Harvey: Subject to aesthetic and heritage issues in the Palace, fluorescent bulbs are replaced with energy efficient equivalents during the refurbishment of each area. When light fittings come to the end of their life they are similarly replaced with energy efficient bulbs. This is not feasible in Central Lobby or St. Stephens Hall due to the age and design of the chandeliers but in all other areas the replacement programme is expected to be complete by 2007.

Project Costs

Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will list the projects costing over £100,000 undertaken on behalf of the Commission since 1997; and what the cost was of each project.

Nick Harvey: I regret that I am unable to do so, in the absence of a clear definition of what constitutes a project for the purposes of this request. Within an annual Administration Estimate cash budget of over £150 million, there are many developments in the services and facilities provided which might or might not be defined as projects". There have for example been over 250 readily identifiable works and IT-related projects since 1997, many jointly funded with the House of Lords. Records of other projects and programmes are not held centrally, and compiling a comprehensive and authoritative list could be done only at disproportionate cost.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Criminal Cases (Competitive Tendering)

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will publish the advice provided by Frontier Economics to her Department in respect of its proposals to introduce competitive tendering in criminal legal aid; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: We will consider the future of competitive tendering including publication of any advice we have received in light of the Carter report into legal aid procurement.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Tendering Policy

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on including (a) ethical and (b) environmental factors in tenders for services.

James Plaskitt: It is the Department's procurement policy to (a) buy sustainable goods and services even if they cost more; (b) make sustainable procurement part of every commercial VFM decision which will be made on the basis of whole life costs; (c) undertake environmental risk assessments of contracting activities and (d) consider ethical and Fair Trade issues across the whole supply chain.

E-benefits Software

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what evaluation he has made of the use of e-benefits software in Rotherham; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	The e-benefits project is one of 22 local e-government national projects sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The project is led by Rotherham MBC. The project's software covers three benefits: housing benefit, council tax benefit and free school meals. These have been evaluated by ODPM, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Cabinet Office. Rotherham is currently working with the ODPM and a consortium of suppliers to make these products available commercially to other local authorities next year.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer of 31 October 2005, Official Report, column 610, what progress has been made by the Financial Assistance Scheme Operational Unit; and whether he expects the first payments to be made by the unit by Christmas.

Stephen Timms: The Financial Assistance Scheme Operational Unit has been gathering information on pension schemes since 1 September. Over 250 schemes have been notified to FAS, of which 51 have so far been accepted as qualifying pension schemes.
	The unit has now begun gathering data on individual members and hopes to be in a position to make initial payments to a number of members in December.

Jobcentre Plus

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many offers of (a) training and (b) other support have been made to individuals by Jobcentre Plus and subsequently rescinded for (i) budgetary or (ii) other reasons in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 7 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding how many offers of (a) training and (b) other support have been made to individuals by Jobcentre Plus, and subsequently rescinded for either budgetary or other reasons in the last 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I assume that when referring to individuals that you are referring to staff members of Jobcentre Plus. On that basis, I can advise you that no offers of training or other support made to staff have been cancelled or rescinded during the last 12 months due to budgetary reasons. Some local training cancellations may have occurred due to operational reasons.
	During 2004/05, 446,396 learning days were delivered to meet the needs of individual staff and the business of Jobcentre Plus. A further 521,220 learning days have been planned for delivery during 2005/06 across Jobcentre Plus, representing an average of 6 days per person for the year.
	We also provide other support during the year which includes 'Working Together', our cultural change programme; use of our performance and development system to support staff development; our employee assistance programme; and leadership and manager development. All of these continue to be on offer.

Jobcentre Plus

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultations have been undertaken to assess the preferred method of contact for customers of Jobcentre Plus.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 7 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning what consultations have been undertaken to assess the preferred method of contact for customers. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus conducts an annual customer satisfaction survey which canvasses the views of our customers across the full range of our services, including the channels of contact we provide. The surveys give us a clear picture about how our services are perceived by customers, including how well delivered they are, and how easy or difficult they are to access. They also provide baseline information on customer expectations and satisfaction and the basis for tracking, over time, how customer perceptions of the service change as Jobcentre Plus implementation is rolled out, helping to drive the process of performance improvement.
	The results of the 2004 survey were published on 30th September 2004. The 2005 survey commenced in September.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the pilots that have been conducted in the Canvey Job Centre in the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 7 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning pilots that have been conducted in Canvey Island Jobcentre Plus during the last five years. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	In answer to your specific question there have been two pilots conducted in Canvey Island Jobcentre Plus in the last five years. These pilots were not exclusive to Canvey Island Jobcentre Plus as they were run in Essex Jobcentre Plus District which covers Canvey Island.
	From April 2004 Essex has been one of seven Jobcentre Plus districts delivering the Governments Pathways to Work pilot. The pilot targets help and support at customers claiming Incapacity Benefit by encouraging and promoting work where possible. As a result of the pilot, 1950 customers have been placed in work.
	On 31 October 2005 the In Work Credit pilot was launched in Essex. The Credit gives extra help to lone parents, or parents whose partners are in receipt of Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance, when they start work provided they meet certain criteria. This pilot is expected to run until 30 October 2006.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what was the average time taken by local contact centres in England to call back applicants for jobseeker's allowance following the initial application in the last period for which figures are available; and what the target is.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 28 October 2005
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 7 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the average time taken by local contact centres in England to call back applicants for Jobseeker's Allowance. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. In answer to your specific question, we do not keep separate figures for specific benefits. Also, whilst we do not have an official target for calling back customers who have made an initial application via our contact centres, we do have a stated aim to call 90% of customers back in 24 hours.
	Jobcentre Plus is undergoing a massive change programme. Change on this scale does create challenges in maintaining levels of service and it has put our business under some pressure in this transitional period. As a result many customers claiming working age benefits have not received their call-back within our stated timescales.
	We have put in place robust measures to improve performance including temporary adjustments to streamline the business process and ramping up recruitment plans, supported by robust training programmes. The latest figures that we have available are for the second week of October when 9.8% of customers received their call-back within 24 hours and on average customers were being contacted within 2.6 days of their initial contact. While this is clearly not acceptable it is a significant improvement from an average of 4.9 days at the beginning of September. Please note that this figure applies to all working age benefits that are made through contact centres based in England. We remain confident that the week on week improvements in customer service we have seen since the beginning of September will continue.

Learning Providers

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions (a) his Department and (b) Jobcentre Plus have held with representatives of learning providers concerning (i) prime contractor status and (ii) other means of improving the cost-effectiveness of education and training in job placement.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 7 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what recent discussions (a) his Department and (b) Jobcentre Plus have held with representatives of learning providers concerning (i) prime contractor status and (ii) other means of improving the cost effectiveness of education and training in job placement. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus holds regular formal discussions and meetings with representatives of the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), the Association of Learning Providers (ALP) and the Provider Liaison Group.
	All these bodies represent the interests of all actual and potential providers of employment related services under contract to Jobcentre Plus. The role of prime contractors and cost effectiveness of employment—related services have both been discussed at these meetings. There are of course other more informal meetings and discussions held with individual learning providers where these issues may be raised.
	I hope this is helpful.

Pensioners (Beverley and Holderness)

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people in Beverley and Holderness he estimates will be entitled to pension credit in 2025;
	(2)  how many pensioners he estimates will be entitled to pension credit in 2025.

Stephen Timms: The numbers entitled to pension credit will depend on a wide range of factors including how Government choose to uprate benefits in the future. If the current uprating approaches are continued in the future, projections suggest 5.2 million households or 6.9 million individuals in Great Britain will be entitled to pension credit in 2025. Projections are not available at constituency level.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000 and are subject to a wide range of uncertainty.
	2. Individuals entitled include a small number of partners below pension age.
	3. The projections account for the equalisation of state pension age between 2010 and 2020.
	4. Estimates of the number of households and individuals eligible for pension credit are available for Great Britain. These are based on a long term version of the Department's Policy Simulation Model, which uses Family Resources Survey data for 2003–04 projected forward into the future to estimate the extent of eligibility for pension credit for each pensioner household on the survey.

Pensions

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total value was of rebates for contracting out of the state second pension in each year since 2002–03; and if he will estimate the distribution of the value of the rebates for each income (a) decile and (b) quartile of the population.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table:
	
		Estimated cost of national insurance contribution rebates
		
			 £ million 
			 Tax year Occupational schemes Personal pension and stakeholder pension schemes Total 
			  Defined benefit Defined contribution   
		
		
			 2002–03 6,300 600 3,500 10,400 
			 2003–04 6,500 500 3,200 10,200 
			 2004–05 6,600 500 3,000 10,100 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are based on GAD estimates for the December 2005 pre-Budget report.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100 million.
	3. Figures cover Great Britain only.
	4. Figures are accruals basis and are in cash terms.
	Source:
	Government Actuary's Department (GAD).

Pensions

Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many occupational pension schemes have started the process of winding up since 1997;
	(2)  how many occupational pension schemes have started winding up since 1997.

Stephen Timms: In April 2005 the Pensions Regulator took over the register of occupational pension schemes from the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra).
	Information in the following table was provided by the Pensions Regulator and shows the number of schemes that have entered winding up each year since 1997 and which had not yet completed winding up. The table does not contain schemes that started winding up in the time period given and have since completed wind up. The Pensions Regulator only holds the present status of a scheme so only those winding up at the moment are captured.
	
		
			 Effective date scheme status was changed on register to 'Winding Up' Number of schemes Total membership 
		
		
			 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 103 2,958 
			 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 127 3,612 
			 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 2,940 52,926 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 1,058 30,192 
			 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 1,450 42,823 
			 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 1,148 54,738 
			 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 1,197 51,478 
			 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 560 53,192 
			 Total 8,583 291,919 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A winding up scheme is one which has notified the Pensions Regulator that it has commenced winding up procedures.
	2. Schemes are required to notify the Pensions Regulator of changes in scheme status as soon as is reasonably practical. This means that the data for the year ended 31 March 2005 is provisional.
	3. The figures are based on information held on the register as at 14 October 2005. The effective date for the commencement of wind up is based on the last scheme status change date.
	4. Total membership includes active, deferred and pensioner members. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these numbers.
	5. During 2005–06 the Pensions Regulator will continue with its plans to issue all occupational pension schemes that are registered in the UK a scheme return form. This will provide the Pension Regulator with access to enhanced data on schemes that are in the process of winding up in future years.

Pensions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the take-up of stakeholder pensions; and what the average employee contribution to stakeholder pension schemes has been.

Stephen Timms: Stakeholder pensions are now an established pension product. Figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that at 30 June 2005 over two-and-a-half million stakeholder pensions had been sold since their introduction in April 2001.
	Official figures for the 2003–04 tax year confirm that 99 per cent. of sales have been to people in work and that the majority of stakeholder pensions are being bought by those on modest incomes; over three-quarters (1,080,000) of stakeholder pension plans with contributions in them in that year were for workers earning under £30,000 a year and around two-thirds (790,000) were for those workers earning under £20,000 a year.
	Stakeholder pensions form an integral part of the range of Stakeholder Savings Products introduced in April 2005 and will benefit from the Government's Consumer Awareness Campaign launched in September. The main objective of the campaign is to raise people's awareness of the Stakeholder Range of Products; what they are and how they can help people save and accumulate assets.
	Information on employee contributions alone is not available. The average contribution to stakeholder pension schemes held by employees in the 2003–04 tax year was £1,290 pa. This includes employee, employer and minimum contributions. (The national insurance rebate).

Swimming

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many deaths of children under the age of 18 years resulted from (a) swimming accidents and (b) swimming accidents in swimming pools in each of the last 20 years.

Anne McGuire: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Tables 1 and 2 set out figures obtained from the Health and Safety Executive and the Office of National Statistics respectively. The two sets of data are not directly comparable as they are based on different reporting arrangements. The HSE data in Table 1 are based on a reporting year from April to March and only include accidents arising from activities within the control of an employer. The ONS statistics at Table 2 are collected over the calendar year and include all deaths from drowning as recorded on death certificates.
	
		Table 1: Fatal injuries to children aged one to 17 years involving swimming activities reported to the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995
		
			 1 April-31 March (a) Swimming activities (b) swimming pools 
		
		
			 1996–97 3 2 
			 1997–98 3 2 
			 1998–99 1 — 
			 1999–2000 2 2 
			 2001–01 4 2 
			 2001–02 3 3 
			 2002–03 2 1 
			 2003–04 3 3 
			 2004–05(22) 3 3 
			 Total 24 18 
		
	
	(22) Provisional
	Notes:
	Swimming activities are identified from HSE's accident coding framework using the following process classifications: for the period 1996–97—2000–01, 4520' Education—Swimming activities (indoor) (including pools, diving)', 5470 'Entertainment-Swimming activities (indoor) (including swimming pools, diving)1, 5480 'Water sports activities (not elsewhere classified) including beach; for 2001–02 onwards, 0815 'Swimming pool activities', 0818 'Water Sports, boating, motor, boat, mooring at marinas'.
	Access to older data is not readily available and would require restoration of archived databases.
	
		Table 2: Number of deaths in persons aged under 18 from (a) swimming accidents and (b) swimming accidents in swimming pools, England and Wales, 1984–2004—Office of National Statistics
		
			 Calendar year (a) Swimming accidents (b) Swimming accidents in swimming pools 
		
		
			 1984 56 — 
			 1985 48 — 
			 1986 44 — 
			 1987 28 — 
			 1988 30 — 
			 1989 70 — 
			 1990 40 — 
			 1991 23 — 
			 1992 26 — 
			 1993 21 — 
			 1994 17 — 
			 1995 24 — 
			 1996 28 — 
			 1997 24 — 
			 1998 21 — 
			 1999 26 — 
			 2000 23 — 
			 2001 12 3 
			 2001 10 3 
			 2003 14 2 
			 2004 19 3 
		
	
	Notes:
	Data selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth revision (ICD-9) between 1984 and 2000 for the codes listed as follows:
	Swimming accidents:
	E910.2—Accidental drowning and submersion while engaged in either sport or other recreational activity without diving equipment.
	E910.3—Accidental drowning and submersion while swimming or diving for purposes other than recreation or sport.
	E910.8—Accidental drowning and submersion, other specified.
	Swimming accidents in swimming pools—It is not possible to identify accidents in swimming pools from the records for 1984 to 2000.
	Data selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth revision (ICD- 10) from 2001 onwards for the codes is listed as follows:
	Swimming accidents:
	W67—Accidental drowning and submersion while in swimming pool.
	W69—Accidental drowning and submersion while in natural water
	W73—Other accidental drowning and submersion.
	Swimming accidents in swimming pools:
	W67—Accidental drowning and submersion while in swimming pool

NORTHERN IRELAND

Cash Machines

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of how many cash machines in Northern Ireland charge customers to withdraw money.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	There are 949 free ATMs in Northern Ireland. All basic bank account holders and many current account holders can also withdraw cash over-the-counter at the Post Office and 'cash-back' is now widely available in supermarkets and shops.
	The latest LINK figures for October 2005 show that there are 418 surcharging ATMs in Northern Ireland. However, as we set out in our response to the Treasury Select Committee on Cash Machine Charges, most surcharging ATMs in the UK are new machines, in locations where previously there was no ATM.

Civil Service

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil service posts in each Northern Ireland Government Department have been lost since 1 January.

Angela Smith: It is assumed that this question relates to staff reductions in Departments announced in Fit for Purpose in October 2004.
	The following table sets out the number of civil service posts in each of the 11 Northern Ireland Departments, and their agencies, lost from 1 January 2005 to 30 September 2005 (latest figures held) as part of the above staff reductions.
	The figures do not relate to any reductions outside the Fit for Purpose exercise ie those in business areas that are funded externally from the NI Budget and those lost as a result of restructuring such as those related to the creation of the Water Service GoCo.
	
		NICS funded posts lost in the period January 2005 to September 2005 under the Fit for Purpose exercise
		
			 Department Funded posts lost 
		
		
			 Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) 160 
			 Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) 12.5 
			 Education (DE) 27.5 
			 Employment and Learning (DEL) 17.3 
			 Enterprise, Training and Investment (DETI) 21 
			 Finance and Personnel (DFP) 137 
			 Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) 23 
			 Environment (DOE) 0 
			 Regional Development (DRD) 102 
			 Social Development DSD) 267 
			 Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM)(23) -1 
			 Total 766.3 
		
	
	(23) While there has been a loss of four funded posts in OFMDFM during 2005, this was offset by a temporary intake of five staff to meet an urgent business need, giving a net increase of one for the full period.

Client Advice

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidelines exist for civil servants in Northern Ireland who receive client advice from a firm at a time when they might also be in a position to decide service contracts in which the same firm might have an interest.

Angela Smith: No specific guidelines exist for civil servants in Northern Ireland who receive client advice from a firm at a time when they might also be in a position to decide service contracts in which the same firm might have an interest.
	All civil servants in Northern Ireland are, however, subject to Northern Ireland Government Accounting Guidance which among other issues sets out the general principles which apply to the acquisition of public works, supplies and services.
	These principles are aligned to the 12 best value for money principles which govern the administration of public procurement in Northern Ireland.
	One of the key principles is Integrity" which addresses the issues of anti-corruption or collusion with suppliers and ensures that ethical standards of conduct are not compromised. Other relevant principles are transparency and fair dealing.
	Under Northern Ireland Procurement Policy, procurement is undertaken by professionals within Centres of Procurement Expertise who oversee and manage the procurement process to ensure its compliance with regulations and the 12 guiding principles.

Domestic Electricity Costs

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of electricity was to customers in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The annual electricity bills for a typical domestic customer, small to medium enterprise customer (SME) and large industrial customer, supplied by Northern Ireland Electricity in each of the last five years, are shown in the following table.
	
		£
		
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Domestic 309 309 309 318 328 
			 Small to medium enterprise 1,560 1,560 1,560 1,644 1,770 
			 Large industrial 320,000 320,000 320,000 337,000 360,000 
		
	
	The annual bills for the SME and large industrial customers are indicative only because a proportion of those customers purchase their electricity from other suppliers in the competitive market for which full cost details are not publicly available.

Electronic Human Resources Services

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the equality impact assessment (EQIA) of the policy for outsourcing Electronic Human Resources services; when a final EQIA document is to be published; how many drafts he has seen; and what other advice his Department has sought on the EQIA from (a) inside and (b) outside Government.

Angela Smith: It is intended to publish the final EQIA Report at award of contract. The final report will be published in line with the arrangement set out in the DFP Equality Scheme.
	To date, no Northern Ireland Minister has received any draft versions of the EQIA Report. However, Lord Rooker has been fully briefed on the equality issues arising out of the EQIA.
	An EQIA Consultation Document was circulated for consultation between August and October 2004. Views were sought from the following groups: NICS and NIO HR staff (via questionnaires and focus groups), NICS and NIO staff in general, the general public and around 110 Section 75 groups. Three of the Section 75 groups responded to the Consultation exercise: Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA), Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) and Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders (NIACRO).
	Advice was sought from our independent legal advisors and DSO in relation to employment law issues and issues in relation to redeployment. Advice was also sought from OFMDFM in respect of the need to conduct an eHR EQIA and also the EQIA process followed by the eHR Programme. An independent consultant was appointed by the Strategic Investment Board (SIB) to assist in carrying out the Equality Impact Assessment.
	DFP is satisfied that it has fully discharged its legal obligations in relation to the Northern Ireland Act (1998) and its statutory Equality Scheme.

Equality Commission

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what allowance is provided to each member of the Equality Commission; and what additional expenses each is eligible for.

Angela Smith: The Chief Commissioner post of the Equality Commission is paid an annual salary of £70,000 based on a full-time appointment. The Deputy Chief Commissioner serves for one day per week and receives an annual allowance of £10,000. The other Commissioners each serve for two days per month and receive an annual allowance of £5,000 each.
	Commissioners are also eligible for additional travel and subsistence expenses when carrying out Equality Commission business.

Foreign Direct Investment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to increase foreign direct investment in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 632W.

Free School Meals

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many schoolchildren in Northern Ireland are (a) eligible for free school meals and (b) in receipt of free school meals, broken down by (i) constituency and (ii) council area.

Angela Smith: A breakdown of the information requested at (a) is not available. However, the number of pupils whose entitlement to free school meals has been established following an application to their education and library board are as follows:
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency Pupils entitled to free school meals 
		
		
			 Belfast East 2,198 
			 Belfast North 5,774 
			 Belfast South 2,191 
			 Belfast West 8,049 
			 East Antrim 1,796 
			 East Londonderry 2,693 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 3,406 
			 Foyle 7,986 
			 Lagan Valley 1,866 
			 Mid Ulster 3,613 
			 Newry and Armagh 5,016 
			 North Antrim 2,835 
			 North Down 1,123 
			 South Antrim 1,959 
			 South Down 3,423 
			 Strangford 1,469 
			 Upper Bann 3,622 
			 West Tyrone 4,125 
			 Northern Ireland Total 63,144 
		
	
	
		
			 District council area Pupils entitled to free school meals 
		
		
			 Antrim 918 
			 Ards 1,197 
			 Armagh 1,704 
			 Ballymena 1,469 
			 Ballymoney 683 
			 Banbridge 871 
			 Belfast 15,144 
			 Carrickfergus 743 
			 Castlereagh 1,314 
			 Coleraine 1,510 
			 Cookstown 1,195 
			 Craigavon 3,030 
			 Derry 7,986 
			 Down 2,139 
			 Dungannon 2,423 
			 Fermanagh 1,925 
			 Larne 642 
			 Limavady 1,183 
			 Lisburn 3,304 
			 Magherafelt 1,476 
			 Moyle 683 
			 Newry and Mourne 4,544 
			 Newtownabbey 1,931 
			 North Down 1,005 
			 Omagh 1,979 
			 Strabane 2,146 
			 Northern Ireland Total 63,144 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures relate to year 1 to year 7 pupils in primary schools and all pupils in post primary schools.
	2. Figures are based upon the district council and parliamentary constituency in which schools are situated.
	Information relating to the number of schoolchildren in receipt of free school meals is not available in the format requested. However, at October 2004 the number of such pupils in each education and library board area was:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 BELB 12,960 
			 NEELB 8,213 
			 SEELB 6,771 
			 SELB 11,732 
			 WELB 13,894 
			 Total 53,570 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures exclude pupils in special schools.
	The Department continues, through the education and library boards, to take steps to encourage eligible pupils to take up their entitlement.

Free School Meals

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average cost was of a school meal in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years, broken down by education and library board.

Angela Smith: The average cost of a primary and secondary school meal, in each education and library board area, for the last five years was as follows:
	
		Primary
		
			 £ 
			 Board 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Belfast 1.33 1.43 1.48 1.58 1.73 
			 North-Eastern 1.53 1.63 1.73 1.85 1.93 
			 South-Eastern 1.38 1.43 1.48 1.58 1.73 
			 Southern(24) 1.40 1.55 1.65 1.70 1.80 
			 Western 1.40 1.48 1.50 1.70 1.75 
		
	
	(24) Figures include 20p for an optional sweet.
	
		Secondary
		
			 £ 
			 Board 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Belfast 1.43 1.53 1.63 1.80 1.98 
			 North-Eastern 1.63 1.73 1.83 1.95 2.03 
			 South-Eastern 1.53 1.58 1.63 1.73 1.90 
			 Southern 1.50 1.50 1.60 1.75 1.88 
			 Western 1.55 1.65 1.70 1.90 1.95

Jobskills Initiative

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people (a) have been disciplined and (b) are passing through a disciplinary process as a result of the recent criticisms of the jobskills initiative in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: No one has been (a) disciplined or (b) is passing through a disciplinary process as a result of the recent criticisms of the jobskills initiative in Northern Ireland. The Department has acknowledged the criticisms in the report and has already introduced significant changes to the jobskills programme.

Local Government Restructuring

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the transitional costs of local government restructuring in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: It is not possible at this stage to give a reliable estimate of the transitional costs of restructuring local government in Northern Ireland.

Poppy Wearing

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the Equality Commission's advice to employers and employees in Northern Ireland is regarding the wearing of poppies in the workplace during the period immediately before Remembrance Day.

Angela Smith: I understand that the chief executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, Ms Evelyn Collins, has written to the hon. Gentleman in the following terms:
	The Equality Commission recognises the sensitivity surrounding the use of emblems and symbols within Northern Ireland and offers guidance on these issues based on the relevant legislation.
	The Commission is of the view that the wearing of poppies by individuals in the workplace, in a respectful manner and within the appropriate period, should not be something which would cause offence.
	Our advice to employers on the general issue of emblems in the workplace is that emblems which tend to distinguish one community from the other in Northern Ireland but are not directly connected with community strife are unlikely to be regarded as creating an intimidating or hostile working environment as described in the Code of Practice. In this category would fall marks of religious observance, ashes, crosses, crucifixes, pioneer pins, fainnes, as well as poppies and shamrocks when worn with decorum and at the appropriate period.
	It would be unacceptable if an individual was made to feel uncomfortable for not wearing any particular emblem or if the emblem was being flaunted before or forced on someone not wearing it.
	It is a part of the Commission's remit to give advice and guidance on the Fair Employment legislation. It is for the Fair Employment Tribunal and the courts to establish and interpret the law, and, of course, if any individual feels that the use of emblems has constituted an unlawful act they are free to apply to the Tribunal for a decision on that point."

Property Valuations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2005, Official Report, column 2199W, on property valuations, for what reasons the copies of the Equality Impact Assessment TSN analysis and Rural Proofing analysis have not been placed in the Library;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2005, Official Report, column 393W, on the Valuation and Lands Agency, when the internal working documents and guidance will be placed in the Library.

Angela Smith: Copies of the documents referred to are now available in the Library.

Public Administration (Review)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many local government jobs he estimates will be lost following implementation of the Review of Public Administration.

Angela Smith: It is not possible at this stage to give a reliable estimate of the number of jobs that might be lost in local government as a result of the implementation of the Review of Public Administration, but the Government will endeavour to keep any redundancies to a minimum.

Smoking Ban

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of proper ventilation in achieving the aims of the ban on smoking in enclosed public places in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: There is a clear consensus among health professionals and the international scientific community that there is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke. Public health experts stress that while ventilation systems may improve comfort by removing the smell and visibility of smoke, they do not remove toxic carcinogens from the air. This was an important factor in my decision to introduce comprehensive controls to protect both the general public and employees.

Video-conferencing

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Northern Ireland departments have installed video-conferencing facilities; how many units have been installed in total; and at what cost.

Angela Smith: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			 Department Number of installed videoconferencing facilities Cost of installation (£) 
		
		
			 Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister 0 0 
			 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development 1 10,785 
			 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure 0 0 
			 Department of Education 0 0 
			 Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment 2 24,000 
			 Department of the Environment 0 0 
			 Department of Finance and Personnel 0 0 
			 Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety 1 41,391 
			 Department for Employment and Learning 1 14,528 
			 Department for Regional Development 0 0 
			 Department for Social Development 0 0 
		
	
	In addition, a number of departments in the NI administration also possess video-conferencing units that do not require installation, that is, they are not purpose-built in one fixed location. At present, there are thirteen such 'portable' units in use across Northern Ireland departments.

Sustainable Development

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons no appointment has been made to the post of deputy secretary to take forward environmental policy and sustainable development within the Department of the Environment; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Department reviewed its top management structure following the retirement of the former deputy secretary. In recognition of the strategic importance of the work of the Environmental Policy Group, its two directors now report directly to the permanent secretary.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arab League Reconciliation Conference

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the United Kingdom's response is to the joint statement of principles by the Arab-League Reconciliation Conference; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The National Accord Conference Preparatory Meeting, hosted by the Arab League in Cairo on 19–21 November, was a useful initiative which provided a good opportunity for Arab and regional governments to review their relationship with Iraq and to plan future engagement. The National Accord meeting itself, which is due to take place in Iraq at the end of February/beginning of March, will be an opportunity for countries to follow-up this review with substantive commitments of assistance.
	The joint statement of principles which followed the Preparatory Meeting contained a number of positive points. Among these were the calls for support of Iraq's political/electoral processes, the importance of increasing security, recognition that terrorism is not a legitimate form of resistance and a call for greater economic, technical, diplomatic and security support for Iraq from Arab countries.
	The election of a new Iraqi government should herald a new era of international engagement with Iraq, with increased assistance for social and economic development as well as political and security development. Arab and regional governments should play a leading role in this—the National Accord Conference in February will be an early opportunity to carry forward this new international partnership.

British Citizens (Overseas Detention)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens were held in (a) jails and (b) other detention facilities in countries (i) where the use of torture has been alleged, (ii) where human rights abuses have been alleged and reported, (iii) about which travel advice had been issued by his Department advising against all travel and (iv) about which travel advice had been issued by his Department advising against all but essential travel in each year since 2001; in how many cases in each category (A) consular support was requested and (B) no consular support was requested; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintains records of the numbers of British nationals detained overseas each year. However, our records do not distinguish between those detained in jails and in other detention facilities, nor do they indicate whether the detainee requested consular support or not. For information on British nationals detained overseas, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr. Hollobone) on 7 November 2005, Official Report, columns 168–70W.
	We do not keep comprehensive records of allegations of torture or human rights abuses in country in the world. We do maintain records of all versions of travel advice on third countries. As this is not cross-referenced to information on numbers of detainees, this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

British Virgin Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to help develop alternative industries to tourism and offshore finance in the British Virgin Islands.

Douglas Alexander: Responsibility for the development of industry in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) falls within the remit of the locally elected British Virgin Islands Government. However, the UK Government are committed to helping BVI develop new areas of industry. This year, the Government have supported BVI's agricultural industry by providing assistance for the expansion of an existing poultry processing plant, provided financial support for a telecommunications liberalisation programme, supported an innovative project in the field of alternative medicine and committed funds for the development of a maritime training school.

Chad

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent arrest and release of Hissène Habre", former President of Chad, in Senegal.

Ian Pearson: The Senegalese authorities, following an extradition request from Belgium, detained and subsequently provisionally released Hissène Habre" pending further discussion with African partners at the Africa Union summit in January 2006.

China

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on human rights in China.

Ian Pearson: The Government have concerns about a wide range of human rights issues in China. These are set out in the current Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights report at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/HumanRights2005.pdf.
	We raise our concerns with the Chinese Government regularly, including through the UK China Human Rights dialogue, ministerial engagement and EU mechanisms. The Government acknowledge that the Chinese Government have recently done much to reduce poverty and promote economic development.

China

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will include reference to the Chinese One Child Policy in his Department's Human Rights Annual Report for 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Annual Report on Human Rights provides an overview of the main challenges to human rights around the world and explains the Government's activities and policies. Although we are not yet in a position to decide on exactly what subjects we will cover in next year's report, we will consider including material assessing the reform and operation of China's population policies.
	The Government have never questioned China's right or need to implement family planning policies but has made it clear that we believe they should be based on the principles of the International Conference on Population and Development; that is on consent not coercion. We have raised concerns about this policy, including reports of enforced sterilisation and abortion. We have also raised the case of the lawyer Chen Guancheng who is being held under house arrest after he highlighted abuses in the implementation of the one child policy in Shandong. The Chinese Government have admitted there have been occasional problems with maladministration of the policy, but insist that this is down to individuals rather than overall malign intent.

China

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Chinese authorities in relation to the safety of Gao Zhisheng and his family in continuing as the advocate for Pastor Cai.

Ian Pearson: We regularly raise human rights with the Chinese Government. As EU Presidency, the UK has launched a Freedom of Expression campaign, which has included making representations on behalf of Chinese lawyers who act in sensitive cases in China. We are aware of the case of Pastor Cai, which was raised in the context of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in October. Our embassy at Beijing is making further inquiries about the circumstances relating to Gao Zhisheng.

Damages

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) of 17 November 2005, Official Report, column 1480W, on damages, if he will make a statement on the three cases to which reference is made.

Ian Pearson: In my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's previous answer to which this questions refers, the first and third cases listed concerned forms of repetitive strain injury. The second case concerned burns sustained at an embassy function.

Dayton Accords

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials have had on the renewal of the Dayton accords; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: There is no requirement to renew the Dayton/Paris accords and there have been no discussions on this issue including UK officials or Ministers. Representatives of the main Bosnian political parties have been involved in talks, facilitated by former deputy high representative Donald Hays, about possible changes to Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitution, which was established by the Dayton accords.
	As Bosnia and Herzegovina draws closer to the EU, it may need to make changes to enable it to function more effectively as a state. However, the Dayton accords make clear that any changes to Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitution require the consent of all three constituent peoples.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Congolese authorities regarding the allegations of serious corruption affecting the funding of the army; and what plans he has to address this issue with the UN mission in that country.

Ian Pearson: The UK continues to press the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to implement the European Union's Security Sector Reform Mission recommendations, which aim to create a sustainable and transparent financing and administrative system for the whole army, ensuring that salaries reach soldiers on the ground. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development reinforced this message to the President and other Government leaders during his visit to the DRC from 30 October to 1 November.
	Addressing corruption within the armed forces is an integral part of the security sector reform programme which we are helping to implement. We continue to work together with the UN peacekeeping force (MONUC) and other partners to achieve that end.

Departmental Staff

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) consultants and (b) special advisers were employed by his Department in each year since 1997; what the cost of each was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The numbers of special advisers employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) since 1997 are set out in the following table. We are not able to release personal information on individual remuneration, but all have been employed within the authorised salary scales for special advisers.
	
		
			 Financial year Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 1 
			 1998–99 0 
			 1999–2000 1 
			 2000–01 1 
			 2001–02 2 
			 2002–03 2 
			 2003–04 2 
			 2004–05 2 
		
	
	The number of consultants working for the FCO is not held centrally. I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Martin Horwood) on 22 November 2005, Official Report, column 1897W for information on costs.

End-use Monitoring

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had (a) with US counterparts regarding end-use monitoring of the State Department Blue Lantern programme and the Department of Defence Golden Sentry programme and (b) EU counterparts regarding an EU-wide verification system of end-use monitoring.

Kim Howells: Representatives of the United States Government have made presentations on both the Blue Lantern and Golden Sentry programmes to the relevant EU working parties, who found the presentations informative. EU member states each have their own policy and procedures on end-user checks and have not reached any collective conclusions on the applicability, or otherwise, of these or similar programmes to existing national arrangements.

Equal Opportunities

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1584–85W, on equal opportunities, if he will make a statement on the development of role models.

Ian Pearson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) recognise the importance of role models, especially for staff from under-represented groups. Current activities aimed at highlighting and developing role models in the FCO include:
	Organising informal lunches with guest speakers from under-represented groups;
	Publicising exceptional achievements by staff in the FCO News magazine;
	Providing targeted training for under-represented groups, including mentoring and coaching;
	Encouraging declaration of disability, particularly at more senior levels;
	Publicising the work of the staff advisory groups and encouraging members to become more visible.
	However, the FCO encourage staff to drive their own careers, and recognises that some members of under-represented groups may not wish to be high profile role models.

Ethiopia/Eritrea

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of (a) human rights and (b) governance in Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office assessment of and actions to promote human rights in Ethiopia are set out in our Annual Report on Human Rights, which was presented to Parliament in July 2005.
	Since then, we have been gravely concerned and saddened by the post-election events in Ethiopia. We condemned in particular the use of live ammunition by security forces to quell demonstrations, which resulted in many deaths and injuries, and the arrest of Opposition leaders. We have urged that these events be investigated fully and impartially and that those arrested be charged and tried fairly or released. We have urged both the Government and Opposition in Ethiopia to reconcile their differences and create an effective Parliament as the principal forum for political debate in Ethiopia. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

Ethiopia/Eritrea

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Ethiopian Government concerning the killing of 46 demonstrators by security forces in the first week of November; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: My noble Friend, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, summoned the Ethiopian Charge d'Affaires on 1 November to register our concerns about the situation in Ethiopia. On 6 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development also raised the issue when he spoke to Prime Minister Meles. On 6 November, in our capacity as EU presidency, we also issued a statement on the situation in Ethiopia. Our ambassador in Ethiopia has also raised our concerns with Prime Minister Meles, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister and other Government Ministers. We continue to raise our concerns at every suitable opportunity.

Ethiopia/Eritrea

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Ethiopian Government following the detention without charge of (a) Hailu Shawel, (b) Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, (c) Dr. Yacob Hailemarian, (d) Ms Birtukan Mideksa, (e) Dr. Berhanu Negga and (f) others; what representations he has made about the possibility that they will be charged with treason following demonstrations in Addis Ababa; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: My noble Friend, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, summoned the Ethiopian Charge d'Affaires on 1 November to register our concerns about the situation in Ethiopia, including the issue of detainees. On 6 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development also raised the issue when he spoke to Prime Minister Meles. On 6 November, in our capacity as EU presidency, we also issued a statement on the situation in Ethiopia, which included reference to our concerns regarding detainees. Our ambassador in Ethiopia has also raised our concerns with Prime Minister Meles, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister and other Government Ministers. We continue to call for the immediate release of all political detainees, for those individuals not charged under due process to be released immediately, and for access to those detained for their families, legal counsel and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross or other appropriate representatives of the international community.

Ethiopia/Eritrea

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Ethiopian and Eritrean Governments concerning tensions along their mutual border; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: We remain very concerned about the current situation. Ministers and senior officials have regularly raised this with the Governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia. Most recently, my noble Friend, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, raised the issue with the Eritrean ambassador on 18 October. He will also raise the issue with the Ethiopian ambassador on 6 December. In our capacity as EU presidency, Lord Triesman intends to visit the region later this month and will make further representations during that visit. In the Security Council, we supported United Nations Security Council Resolution l640 (2005) adopted on 23 November, which expressed concern about developments at the border and outlined the way forward.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to encourage more flights to Mount Pleasant airport in the Falkland Islands.

Douglas Alexander: External air links with the Falkland Islands currently consist of a weekly flight ran by LAN Chile between Santiago and Mount Pleasant airport, and the airbridge ran three times every fortnight by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) between Mount Pleasant and RAF Brize Norton via Ascension Island.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and MOD officials keep air links between the Falkland Islands and the UK under review. The FCO hopes to explore alternative options for flights with the Government of the Falkland Islands soon.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to promote tourism to the Falkland Islands.

Douglas Alexander: Falkland Islands Tourist Board is actively promoting the Falklands as a cruise and land based visitor destination. This is done by representation at international travel fairs and by direct promotion with international tourism companies. This is reflected in the numbers of approximately 40,000 cruise visitors and 1,000 land based visitors who are expected for the coming season.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the drilling for oil and gas around the Falkland Islands.

Douglas Alexander: Exploration for offshore hydrocarbons is currently being undertaken by companies holding licences issued by the Falkland Islands Government, in areas to the north and the south east of the Falkland Islands. Exploration is at an early stage and has not yet led to any commercial discoveries, but seismic surveys are underway with a view to exploratory drilling in due course. The Government are fully committed to the offshore prospecting policy pursued by the Falkland Islands Government, which is entirely consistent with the United Kingdom's sovereign rights over the Falkland Islands.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had regarding the promotion of the export of meat from the Falklands since the recent outbreak of foot and mouth in Brazil, with particular reference to beef; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The promotion of the export of meat from the Falkland Islands is a matter for the Falkland Islands Government. The Falkland Islands do not currently export beef—production is for the local market only. The Sand Bay abattoir is only certified by the EU for the export of sheep meat.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Royal Navy ships have been operating near the Falkland Islands in each of the last five years; and what activities have been undertaken by them.

Douglas Alexander: From 2000 to 2005 the following HM ships have patrolled near the Falkland Islands as the Atlantic Patrol Task South:
	
		
			  
		
		
			 HMS Somerset December 1999 to February 2000 
			 HMS Southampton February to May 2000 
			 HMS Argyll July to October 2000 
			 HMS Iron Duke October 2000 to February 2001 
			 HMS Glasgow March to July 2001 
			 HMS Edinburgh July to October 200l 
			 HMS Montrose November 2001 to March 2002 
			 HMS Newcastle March to August 2002 
			 HMS Westminster September 2002 to April 2003 
			 HMS Lancaster May to November 2003 
			 HMS Glasgow November 2003 to April 2004 
			 HMS Cardiff April to September 2004 
			 HMS Iron Duke September to December 2004 
			 HMS Gloucester December 2004 to March 2005 
			 HMS Portland March to September 2005 
			 HMS Southampton September 2005 to January 2006 
		
	
	HMS Leeds Castle and HMS Dumbarton Castle—Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel—one of the two has been permanently deployed to the islands.
	HMS Endurance visits the Falkland Islands as part of her South Atlantic and Antarctic austral summer deployments each year.
	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
	Black Rover, Grey Rover and Gold Rover have all spent time in the Falklands over the last five years.
	We do not comment on submarine movements.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent actions have been taken to dissuade the Argentine Government from attempting to gain sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

Douglas Alexander: The Government consistently tell the Argentine Government that we have no doubts about the sovereignty of the Islands and there will be no negotiations unless and until the Falkland islanders agree.
	The presence of British Forces South Atlantic Islands in the islands, our consistent rejection of Argentine protests over sovereignty and the activities of the Falkland Islands Government reaffirm our stance on sovereignty. Successive democratic Argentine Governments have said publicly that they intend to pursue their claim to the Falkland Islands peacefully.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK Government have had any discussions with the Argentine Government concerning the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands since 1997.

Douglas Alexander: The UK has not had any discussions concerning sovereignty of the Falklands with Argentina since 1997. However, we consistently make clear that we have no doubts about the sovereignty of the Islands and there will be no negotiations unless and until the Falkland Islanders agree.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what visits to the Falkland Islands by members of the royal family are planned.

Ian Pearson: The forward programme of visits by members of the royal family to the Falkland Islands has not been finalised. For security reasons, royal visits overseas are not generally announced until a matter of weeks before a visit takes place.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit the Falkland Islands.

Douglas Alexander: My right. hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, has no current plans to visit the Falkland Islands.
	However, Ministers take every opportunity to meet with councillors from the Falkland Islands when they visit the UK, during which a whole range of issues are discussed. My noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, recently met with councillors from the Falklands in October, when chairing the Overseas Territories Consultative Council.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people have been injured by land mines in the Falkland Islands in each year since 1993.

Douglas Alexander: There have been no injuries caused by land mines in the Falkland Islands since 1993.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to encourage the Falklands to increase its exports to the UK.

Douglas Alexander: The Falkland Islands Government are responsible for encouraging the increase in exports to the UK. The combining of the Falkland Islands Company shipping service with the Falkland Islands re-supply service will both increase frequency and introduce some medium term rate stability for farmers shipping wool to the UK.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK residents have taken up residence in the Falkland Islands in the last 10 years.

Douglas Alexander: The Falkland Islands Government do not keep statistics on UK residents who have taken up residence in the Falkland Islands in the last 10 years. However, census figures identify people physically present in the Falkland Islands on the day of the census by country of birth. The figures for those born in the United Kingdom from the last four censuses are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1986 465 
			 1991 664 
			 1996 640 
			 2001 704

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on comments made by the Cuban Alternate Permanent Representative at the United Nations at the General Assembly's 4th Commission on Special Policies and Decolonisation in October regarding Cuba's support for the right of Argentina in the dispute over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

Douglas Alexander: The UK's position on this issue is well known, and was last set out in detail by the UK's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, in a written right of reply to the statement by His Excellency President Nestor Carlos Kirchner of the Republic of Argentina, in the high-level plenary session of the General Assembly on 14 September 2005.
	The United Kingdom has no doubts about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. There can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish.

HIV/AIDS

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the South African Health Minister on offering appropriate treatment to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Ian Pearson: HIV and AIDS is a top priority for the UK bilateral development programme in South Africa. The Department for International Development funded a £30 million multisectoral programme in 2003. The programme works with partners in Government at national, e.g. Departments of Health, Social Development and Defence and provincial, e.g. in Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal levels. However, while the Government are happy to assist South Africa if requested, the implementation of healthcare policy, including that on HIV/AIDS, is within the South African Government's remit.

India

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to (a) the Indian Government and (b) the Chief Minister of Orissa state about the burning down of houses belonging to members of the Christian community in Gandahati village, Gajapati district, Orissa.

Kim Howells: Our high commission in New Delhi has looked into media reports alleging this attack against Christians in Orissa but has been unable to verify these. We condemn all instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith or belief, wherever they happen and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned. Our high commission in New Delhi continues to monitor the issue of religious freedom, with staff making regular calls on the appropriate Indian authorities to flag up our concern about incidents of religious intolerance. We will continue to insist that the right to freedom of religion is upheld, and that those responsible for attacks against people on grounds of their religion are brought to justice.

India

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to (a) the Indian Government and (b) the Chief Minister of Orissa state about the continuing activities of militant Hindu groups in Orissa state and several other states in India.

Kim Howells: We are aware of the alleged involvement of Hindu extremist organisations in attacks against Christians in India. We condemn all instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith or belief, wherever they happen and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned. Our high commission in New Delhi continues to monitor the issue of religious freedom, with staff making regular calls on the appropriate Indian authorities, to flag up our concern about incidents of religious intolerance. We will continue to insist that the right to freedom of religion is upheld, and that those responsible for attacks against people on grounds of their religion are brought to justice.

Iran

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's relations with Iran.

Kim Howells: We have serious concerns about Iran's position on a number of issues. At the International Atomic Energy Agency Board meeting on 24 November we made clear our growing concerns about Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. We have also expressed our concerns about Iran's attitude towards terrorism; its lack of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and its unhelpful approach to the Middle East Peace Process and to Iraq. Progress in our relations with Iran will depend on action by Iran to address these concerns.

Iraq

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what legal jurisdiction British subjects are working in Iraq if employed by (a) the UK Government and (b) the US Administration; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: holding answer 6 December 2005
	British diplomatic and consular staff working in Iraq are required under the Vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations to respect the laws of the host state, but in most cases they are immune from its jurisdiction, although such immunity can be waived by the sending state.
	All non-Iraqi contractors working in Iraq for the US and UK Governments are required to respect the laws of Iraq, except that by virtue of Coalition Provision Authority (CPA) Order No 17 (Revised) they are not subject to Iraqi laws or regulations in matter relating to the terms and conditions of their contracts. Such contractors are immune from the jurisdiction of the Iraqi courts with respect to acts performed pursuant to the terms and conditions of their contract, but this immunity may be waived by the state which has employed the contractor.
	CPA Order 17 also confers immunity from Iraqi jurisdiction on non-Iraqi nationals employed by the US and UK Governments as consultants to the Government of Iraq and on military personnel forming part of the Multi-National Force in Iraq. Such persons are, however, required to respect the laws of Iraq and their immunity may be waived by the sending state.
	If a contractor of British nationality, or a British diplomat or consultant, were to commit a criminal offence in Iraq, it is possible that in some circumstances he could be prosecuted in this country. This will depend on whether extra-territorial jurisdiction exists for the offence under English law. Members of the British armed forces remain subject to military law and the criminal law of England and Wales at all times.

Opposition Spokespersons (Formal Visits)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the formal visits (a) undertaken by and (b) participated in by official Opposition spokespersons which were funded by his Department in the last two years.

Ian Pearson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funded the visit of the official Opposition Shadow Minister for Defence, the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan), to Iraq in 2005.
	In 2004 two official Opposition Whips, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle and the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds, participated in an FCO funded cross-party visit to the United Nations in New York.
	Records show visits by official Opposition spokespersons who received briefings, hospitality or accommodation from our posts as:
	Shadow Foreign Secretary, the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox)—Turkey, South Africa, Namibia, Israel, Jordan, United States of America, India.
	Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne)—China, Estonia.
	Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram)—Egypt, Israel,Jordan.
	Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan)—NATO parliamentary assembly.
	Shadow Minister for Homeland Security, the hon. Member for Newark(Patrick Mercer)—Pakistan
	Shadow Minister for the Treasury, the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring)—Bahrain
	Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Sport, the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Hugh Robertson)—Singapore.

South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation summit.

Kim Howells: The UK warmly welcomes the progress made at the 13th South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Summit in Dhaka towards achieving closer South Asian regional integration. We were particularly pleased to note the milestone decision taken by SAARC Heads of State to invite Afghanistan to join this organisation, and the moves made towards granting observer status to others. An effective and strong SAARC, working with South Asia's friends, can only benefit the people of the region.
	We also welcome the movement towards concluding the South Asian Free Trade Area Agreement (SAFTA), following the recent deliberations of the Committee of Experts on SAFTA. We understand that SAFTA is now scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2006 and is expected to be fully operational by 2016. This will create a free trade zone bringing the benefits of closer regional economic integration to an area covering over 1.4 billion people.

Special Advisers

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the special advisers in post in his Department, broken down by pay band; and what the total budgeted cost to his Department of special advisers is for 2005–06.

Jack Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) today (UIN 27410).
	Information relating to costs for 2005–06 will be published after the end of the current financial year.

Syria

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations (a) he and (b) his officials have made to the Government of Syria regarding the safety, proper treatment and fair trial of Dr. Kamal al-Labwani; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Neither I nor my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary have raised the case of Dr. al-Labwani with the Syrian Government. However, our ambassador in Damascus has raised Dr. Labwani's case with the Syrian authorities, and, in our capacity as Presidency of the EU, led calls for his early release. We will continue to monitor developments closely.

Taiwan

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on Taiwan's application to join the World Health Organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: There are difficulties over Taiwanese involvement in a UN forum where statehood is a prerequisite for full membership. We hope that the World Health Organisation (WHO) secretariat, and others organising meetings and working groups under WHO auspices, will show flexibility in finding mechanisms to allow Taiwanese medical and public health officials to participate in these activities.
	The WHO secretariat and China recently signed a memorandum of understanding on technical exchanges with Taiwan. We understand that the WHO and Taiwan already share information on an informal basis.

Turkey

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent unrest in south-east Turkey.

Douglas Alexander: Terrorist incidents in south-east Turkey have increased during 2004–05 and Turkish military operations against the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) continue. The Turkish Prime Minister visited the region on 12 August, and spoke of the need to address its political, economic and cultural problems.
	There have been allegations of security force involvement in a number of terrorist incidents in the south east, including a grenade attack on 9 November on a bookshop in Semdinli. The Turkish Government have promised a full investigation, and Prime Minister Erdogan visited Semdinli on 21 November to demonstrate his commitment to this.

UK Arms Exports

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the issuing of end use certificates for UK arms exports.

Kim Howells: In the export licensing process, end user certificates are provided by the body which is purchasing strategic goods for which a licence is being sought. They state who the end user is, whether the goods are for military purposes and what end use the goods are intended for.

UN Small Arms Review Conference

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made towards securing non-European support for the adoption at the United Nations small arms review conference in July 2006 of universal criteria governing the international transfer of small arms.

Kim Howells: The UK has made good progress in building widespread support for agreement at the 2006 UN Small Arms and Light Weapons Programme of Action Review Conference of minimum common criteria to underpin controls on transfers of Small Arms and Light Weapons controls, including import, export and transhipment. The UK has already secured substantial non-European support especially in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and is working to match this in other regions including Asia.

HEALTH

A&E Departments (Paediatric Care)

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what risk assessment she has undertaken of major accident and emergency departments functioning without the back-up of a paediatrics department on same site.

Liam Byrne: Assessment and resuscitation procedures for children are available in all major accident and emergency units. Where children requiring hospital admission attend an accident and emergency unit that does not have a paediatrics department on site, the unit will initiate care and arrange transfer to an appropriate department. This procedure addresses risks associated with failing to achieve best outcome, where staff might otherwise undertake specialised paediatric interventions with which they are unfamiliar.
	There is a consultation currently in progress, The acutely or critically sick or injured child in the district general hospital", which is accessible on the Department's website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/Consultations/fs/en. The consultation document makes explicit recommendations about the competencies needed in a paediatric resuscitation team and those needed for stabilisation of the critically ill or injured child.

Alcohol-related Diseases

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admission episodes for alcohol-related diseases there were in each primary care trust in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Information on admission episodes for alcohol-related diseases in each primary care trust in each of the last five years has been placed in the Library.

Ambulance Trusts

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2005, Official Report, column 832W, on ambulance trusts, what the evidential basis was for deciding that 11 ambulance trusts are the most effective; and what plans she has to commission further research on the effectiveness of reorganising ambulance trusts.

Liam Byrne: The consultation document due to be issued shortly will outline the criteria that we have used to arrive at the proposal of 11 ambulance trusts for the future. These criteria include ensuring the new organisations are operationally fit for purpose, fit with other national health service boundaries and with other Government boundaries. The results from the consultation will be a key factor in taking the final decisions.
	Taking Healthcare to the Patient: Transforming NHS Ambulance Services" sets out the vision and recommendations for the ambulance service in the future, for the local NHS to take forward. If the reconfiguration proposals are accepted following consultation, all new trusts will be judged on the extent to which they effectively implement the review's recommendations to successfully build on existing good practice and high performance to provide efficient, effective, locally responsive ambulance trusts that best meet patient need. The proposed new ambulance organisations would also still be required to achieve national performance requirements, for example on response times.

Asylum Seekers

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role (a) the NHS and (b) primary care trusts play in providing medical and healthcare services in detention centres for asylum seekers; and how the standard of health services provided in detention centres is monitored.

Caroline Flint: On site primary healthcare services in Immigration Service removal centres are the responsibility of the Home Office, and are provided under contract by the Prison Service in directly managed centres and by private providers in contracted-out centres. Detainees held at the centres will access local national health service secondary care and other services as appropriate, including accident and emergency, maternity and in-patient mental healthcare. The on-site services are subject to monitoring by on-site Home Office Contract Monitors and are included in Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons' inspections of individual centres. In addition, initial discussions have taken place with the Healthcare Commission with a view to the possible registration of the private contractors who provide these services, which would bring them within the Commission's oversight and inspection programme.

BCG Inoculation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost of a BCG inoculation per person.

Caroline Flint: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination is provided free of charge to any individual defined as at increased risk of tuberculosis in the chief medical officer's letter of 6 July 2005.

Bed Utilisation

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average percentage level of bed utilisation was in acute hospitals in the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority area, including Southport and Ormskirk Hospital Trust in the last year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows data on average bed occupancy rates for all providers in the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority (SHA) area with beds open overnight.
	
		Average occupancy rate, Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority: 2004–05
		
			 Name Total (percentage occupancy) 
		
		
			 Cheshire and Merseyside Health Authority 85.9 
			 5 Boroughs Partnership National Health Service Trust 91.7 
			 Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust 92.2 
			 Central Liverpool Primary Care Trust 88.8 
			 Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust 92.9 
			 Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Trust 67.9 
			 Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust 87.2 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 84.5 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston PCT 88.0 
			 Liverpool Women's Hospital NHS Trust 61.9 
			 Mersey Care NHS Trust 90.0 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 82.7 
			 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust 89.2 
			 Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust 71.0 
			 South Sefton PCT 83.5 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 87.3 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley Hospital NHS Trust 88.3 
			 The Cardiothoracic Centre—Liverpool NHS Trust 66.2 
			 The Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 81.2 
			 Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust 87.7 
			 Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 81.8 
		
	
	Status:
	Published 30 September 2005
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH03

Cancer Drugs

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that NHS trusts give priority to the funding of licensed cancer drugs for the next financial year.

Jane Kennedy: We are already putting record amounts of new investment into the national health service, between 2003 and 2008 NHS expenditure in England will increase on average by 7.5 per cent. each year. It is for primary care trusts to decide how best to spend these resources taking into account local circumstances.
	PCTs have many competing priorities but cancer is a national and local priority. Every PCT will have a sizeable number of people in their area who will be diagnosed with the disease, live with the disease and who die from the disease each year. PCTs will need to ensure they allocate sufficient resource to meet their local contribution to tackling cancer care or other areas.

Castle Hill Hospital

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) capital value of and (b) total expected repayment to the private finance initiative contractor is for phase 5 of the Castle Hill Hospital.

Liam Byrne: The capital value of the phase 5 project is around £8.8 million. The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust will make monthly unitary payments to the phase 5 private finance initiative consortium totalling approximately £48.1 million (this figure includes an estimate for annual retail price index uplift) over the duration of the 30-year contract. This amount includes the provision of radiology medical equipment service by Phillips Medical Systems for the first 10 years, including lifecycle replacement and maintenance. The private finance initiative consortium is also providing the hard facilities management service (maintenance) for the building including full lifecycle replacement over the 30-year contract.
	Source:
	The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Cheshire and Mersey Strategic Health Authority

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the work being done by McKinseys on the reconfiguration of services across Cheshire and Mersey Strategic Health Authority is expected to cost; and when it is expected to be (a) completed and (b) reported to hon. Members.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally. Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority (SHA) expects to consider the outcome of this work in the new year. The process of informing local stakeholders, including hon. Members, falls within the remit of the SHA.

Child Protection

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) designated doctors and (b) designated nurses for the protection of children from abuse and neglect are employed by primary care trusts in England.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Creatine

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long the Food Standards Agency was given to respond to the European Commission's recent proposal to amend the Annexes of Directive 2001/15/EC in relation to creatine; what steps she has taken to satisfy herself that the Commission's consultation processes were (a) in accordance with best practice and (b) involved all key industry stakeholders; when she expects the relevant Council Standing Committee to consider the proposal in question; what her objectives are for this proposal; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 5 December 2005
	The European Commission informed the United Kingdom and all other EC member states in late October that an amendment to the Directive would be discussed and possibly voted upon at the beginning of December. As a result of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) consulting stakeholders about the proposal, an unintended issue over the status of creatine was brought to its attention. The FSA consequently contacted the Commission and a vote on this aspect has been postponed. The FSA has pointed out to the Commission that its own consultation procedures did not appear to have reached the sector concerned in this case and that these should therefore be reviewed.
	Interested parties in this country will be informed and consulted on any revised proposal concerning creatine.

Criminal Records Bureau Checks

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact on health professionals decisions on whether to work as locums rather than permanent trust staff of the time taken to process enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: We are not aware of any impact of Criminal Record Bureau checks on decisions of health professionals to work as locums or permanent staff.

Cystic Fibrosis

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to reduce prescription charges for young cystic fibrosis sufferers who want to take up employment.

Jane Kennedy: We have no plans to extend the existing list of medical conditions that give exemption from prescription charges. The list has been reviewed on a number of occasions but no clear-cut case for extending it has emerged. There is no consensus on what additional conditions might be included in any revised list of medical exemptions, or how distinctions could be drawn between one condition and another.
	The extensive exemption and change remission arrangements mean that 87 per cent. of prescriptions are dispensed free-of-charge. As a result, many people with medical conditions not on the exempt list already get free prescriptions on other grounds. Anyone in work may claim help through the NHS low income scheme.

Departmental Staff

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff were employed in communications roles in her Department on 1 October (a) 2003, (b) 2004 and (c) 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Department routinely carries out an audit at the end of each financial year on the numbers of communications staff employed by the Communications Directorate, the result of which (in relation to Press Officers") is placed in the Library. For each of the periods requested the numbers are as follows:
	
		
			  Press officers Other communication staff 
		
		
			 2002–03 24 110 
			 2003–04 26 102 
			 2004–05 30 98 
		
	
	The Special Advisers Code of conduct sets out the sort of work a special adviser may undertake on behalf of their Minister. This includes communications activity. This activity has not been identified within the above figures.
	The Department does not hold any figures for the numbers of staff on the actual dates quoted, as its audit is scheduled around the end of the financial year.
	These figures are for the Department's Communications Directorate only.

Departmental Consultation

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will list the consultation exercises undertaken by her Department in the last two years, indicating (a) how many consultation responses were received, (b) how many stakeholders were engaged in the consultation, (c) what the total cost of each consultation exercise was and (d) what the cost per participant of the consultation was;
	(2)  how many stakeholders have been engaged in the Government's Your Health, Your Care, Your Say consultation exercise; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: A total of 254 people attended the four regional events in Gateshead, Leicester, London and Plymouth and 998 people attended the citizen's summit in Birmingham on 29 October.
	When the consultation closed on 4 November, 147 feedback forms had been received from local deliberative consultation events. In addition, over 18,000 on-line questionnaires have been completed and approximately 15,500 hard copies of the questionnaire have been returned. Over 60 letters have also been received from interested stakeholders in response to the consultation.
	Representatives from over 60 statutory and non-statutory bodies were involved in five policy taskforces. A series of five academic seminars were also held, involving over 40 individuals from a variety of organisations. In addition, Ministers and officials met representatives of a wide range of stakeholder organisations at specially arranged and routine meetings to inform them about the exercise and to hear their views.
	Around 750 organisations were contacted and invited to register with a website which enabled interested stakeholders to keep up to date with the consultation, access key documents for holding consultation events and enable an exchange of views and ideas with other organisers of local events. Contact was maintained through a regular newsletter.
	Representatives from around 150 organisations attended a workshop on 19 July to discuss the best ways of involving stakeholders in the consultation and the resources required to make it a success. Around a further 120 organisations attended a briefing event about the consultation process and the website on 8 September.
	A number of stakeholder organisations have put information about the consultation on their websites and some have put links through to the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say" questionnaire.

Departmental Website

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints regarding the operation of her Department's website were received in 2004–05; and how many of these were responded to within (a) one working day, (b) five working days and (c) longer than five working days.

Jane Kennedy: The Department's central web team manages all inquiries relating to the operation of the Department's website. All such inquiries are logged and responded to within five working days. Complaints are not logged or dealt with separately from general inquiries.
	Prior to July 2004, website-related inquiries were not collated by topic. Therefore, we are only able to provide total numbers of inquiries dealt with per month from April to June 2004. From July 2004, website-related inquiries have been broken down into categories as shown in the table.
	
		Inquiries received by topic April 2004 to March 2005
		
			 Topic April May June July August September 
		
		
			 Broken/wrong links/old urls — — — 38 16 27 
			 Publication dates/ search date range — — — 3 1 0 
			 Search/ finding information — — — 61 36 27 
			 Improvements suggested — — — 9 7 3 
			 Request to exchange links — — — 4 2 8 
			 Miscellaneous (including positive feedback)13 10 22 
			 Printing/downloading — — — 2 2 2 
			 Site/services down — — — 2 4 0 
			 Incorrect/out of date information — — — 10 10 13 
			 Not about the Department's site/not for web team — — — 21 10 14 
			 Total 321 150 189 170 118 130 
		
	
	
		
			 Topic October November December January February March 
		
		
			 Broken/wrong links/old urls 18 20 11 11 18 15 
			 Publication dates/ search date range 1 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Search/ finding information 40 37 27 17 19 31 
			 Improvements suggested 3 7 8 5 5 6 
			 Request to exchange links 5 2 1 3 2 2 
			 Miscellaneous (including positive feedback) 16 9 6 16 4 7 
			 Printing/ downloading 1 1 1 5 25 10 
			 Site/services down 0 1 0 2 12 18 
			 Incorrect/out of date information 4 5 3 3 3 5 
			 Not about the Department's site /not for web team 21 5 15 20 22 31 
			 Total 153 116 90 82 110 125

Doctors

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current rate is of under-employment among trained doctors.

Liam Byrne: Information on the current rate of under-employment among trained doctors is not held centrally.

Flu Vaccines

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken in co-operation with industry to increase the capacity available to produce vaccine to counter a pandemic of a human variant of avian influenza.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 6 December 2005
	We are meeting with the manufacturers of ordinary flu vaccine to explore how we can work with industry to develop pandemic flu vaccines as quickly as possible after the virus is isolated. We are actively exploring a range of preparatory steps with manufacturers in order to improve the prospects of early delivery of pandemic influenza vaccines.
	We are working with the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) and others to see how to rationalise the testing process, which ensures that a safe vaccine is produced. We are working with NIBSC to develop a library of reference strains, which may help accelerate the vaccine development process.

FSA (Salt Campaign)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost is of the Food Standard Agency's television campaign on salt; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency committed £3.6 million to a seven and a half week advertising campaign, which ran between 10 October to 30 November.

General Medical Services Contract

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to amend the time at which the out-of-hours period (a) begins and (b) ends in the General Medical Services contract.

Liam Byrne: One of the major themes coming out of the 'Your Health, Your Care, Your Say' public consultation is that people would prefer general practices to offer extended opening hours. The Department will be working with general practitioners, nurses, practice managers and stakeholder groups like the British Medical Association on how best to achieve this and proposals will be set out in the forthcoming White Paper on improving community health and care.

Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions she has had with relevant NHS organisations on the future configuration of hospital services in the Hammersmith hospitals NHS Trust.

Jane Kennedy: The Secretary of State for Health has had no discussions recently with any relevant national health service organisation on the future configuration of hospital services in the Hammersmith hospitals NHS trust.

Health and Social Care

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the operation of sections (a) 113 and (b) 114 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003.

Jane Kennedy: The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 made provision for changes to the national health service and the social services complaints procedures.
	The Department is reviewing the operation of both complaints procedures. Any changes will be aimed at improving the patient experience and the service provided by making the systems simpler, faster and more closely integrated. It is important also for both systems to focus on improvement in service delivery by learning from mistakes.
	We recognise that strong links are needed across health and social care and we have already announced the merger of the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Healthcare Commission. This is a key initiative in the drive towards a system which aims to deliver patient and user centred services.

Health and Social Care

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much has been allocated by each strategic health authority to fund the secondment of health care assistants who wish to train as nurses in each year since the scheme began;
	(2)  how many health care assistants have been seconded to train as nurses by each NHS Trust in each year since the scheme began;
	(3)  what information is collected by her Department on the number of health care assistants who have requested secondments for nursing training and had that request refused;
	(4)  what recent discussions she has had on the current scheme for the secondment of health care assistants to nurse training; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 October 2005
	The secondment scheme for health care assistants (HCAs) began in 1998–99. Up to 2003–04, the money for this scheme was routed through the former regional health authorities and regional offices who took local decisions on how much and which education consortia received funding. Therefore, we are only able to provide figures for the number of HCAs seconded in 2003–04, 2004–05 and expenditure for 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06. This is shown in the table.
	
		HCAs who went on to nurse training courses
		
			  Number of HCAs Expenditure on HCAs (£000) 
			  2003–04 2004–05 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06(25) 
		
		
			 Avon, Gloucs and Wilts 336 522 4,067 6,524 7,423 
			 Beds and Herts 224 311 2,716 3,881 4,172 
			 Birmingham and Black Country 655 869 7,932 10,863 12,083 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 614 774 7,435 9,672 12,017 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 182 226 2,202 2,825 3,396 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 387 544 4,683 6,795 7,239 
			 Devon and Cornwall 174 238 2,103 2,969 4,212 
			 Dorset and Somerset 190 233 2,906 2,910 3,304 
			 Essex 202 289 2,449 3,605 5,528 
			 Greater Manchester 630 853 7,637 10,661 11,188 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 303 443 3,669 5,537 5,923 
			 Kent and Medway 586 285 7,098 3,558 4,778 
			 Leicestershire, Northants and Rutland 298 337 3,607 4,213 4,422 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 281 389 3,402 4,857 6,344 
			 North and East Yorkshire and North East Lines 224 331 2,715 4,132 4,804 
			 North Central London 438 561 6,676 8,828 8,445 
			 North East London 429 559 6,539 8,798 9,254 
			 North West London 457 603 6,975 9,488 10,419 
			 Northumberland Tyne and Wear 255 330 3,086 4,120 4,620 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 266 292 4,052 3,654 4,501 
			 South East London 381 506 5,812 7,969 8,332 
			 South West London 204 260 3,111 4,099 4,320 
			 South Yorkshire 352 412 4,266 5,150 6,160 
			 Surrey and Sussex — 442 — 5,518 6,542 
			 Thames Valley 309 402 3,739 5,028 4,883 
			 Trent 390 587 4,726 7,334 8,068 
			 West Midlands South 231 293 2,794 3,659 4,515 
			 West Yorkshire 454 552 5,500 6,895 7,989 
			 Total 9,450 12,442 121,897.9 163,545 184,882 
		
	
	(25) Planned.
	Officials keep the scheme under regular review and I am satisfied that it has provided significant help in supporting HCAs who wish to become nurses. Indeed, the number of HCAs participating has exceeded our expectations.
	In 1998–99, £50 million was allocated to widening access initiatives and the majority was spent on HCA secondments. In 2003–04, the student nurse population was around 63,000 and of these over 6,900 were HCAs. In 2004–05, £164 million was allocated to strategic health authority workforce directorates to fund tuition fees and salary support for HCA's pre-registration training for an increased HCA population of over 9,400 (18 percent. of the population). In 2005–06, the planned spend is around £185 million and the number of HCAs entering pre-registration nurse training is expected to rise to over 13,500 (18 percent. of the student population).
	We do not hold centrally the number of applications accepted or rejected by national health service trusts nor the number of NHS trusts who do not offer secondments. The number of HCAs seconded to train as nurses is a matter for local decision and it is for individual employers to decide their policy on offering such secondments.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health addressed the Healthcare Assistants' Conference in July 2005 where she praised the outstanding care that healthcare assistants deliver on a daily basis. She made a commitment to continue to invest and reform the training and development opportunities for all in the NHS.

Health Services (North Yorkshire)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on structural changes to health services in North Yorkshire.

Liam Byrne: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) have recently submitted their proposals for the reconfiguration of primary care trusts (PCTs), which set out how they intend to strengthen their commissioning function. These proposals have been assessed by an independent external panel drawn from and representing a wide range of stakeholder interests, to determine whether the SHA proposals meet the criteria stipulated in Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS", (July 2005). Where the criteria are judged to have been met the proposals will go forward to a three-month public consultation. No decisions on the reorganisation of PCTs will be taken until this process has been completed.

HIV

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of individuals staying in the UK illegally in each year since 1997–98 who were eligible for continuing care for HIV because they had stayed in the UK for longer than 12 months until the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations were amended.

Jane Kennedy: Successive Governments have not required the national health service to provide statistics on the number or nationality of overseas visitors treated under the provisions of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended, or on the costs of treatment.
	Home Office estimates of the amount of people in the United Kingdom (UK) illegally do not separately identify those who have stayed in the UK for 12 months or more and there is no evidence on which an estimate on the proportion of such people who are HIV positive could be based.
	It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.

Hospital Admissions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to her answer of 17 October 2005, Official Report, columns 761–62W, concerning admissions, if she will break down the information by (a) region, (b) strategic health authority and (c) NHS trust;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 762W, on emergency re-admissions, if she will provide equivalent figures for (a) quarter 4 of 2004–05, (b) quarter 1 of 2005–06 and (c) each quarter since January 2001, broken down by NHS trust.

Liam Byrne: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, similar information on annual trends in readmission rates, by age group, broken down by Government regional office and by strategic health authority is available at www.nchod.nhs.uk.

Hospitals (Catering/Parking)

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines she has given to hospitals about the provision of parking spaces for (a) staff and (b) visitors; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: In 1996, NHS Estates, an Executive agency of the Department, published Car Parking, Health Facilities Note 21", which provided advice and guidance on issues surrounding the optimum provision of car parking facilities for health care premises. This has been placed in the Library.
	The Department is currently finalising a new guidance document, Transport Management and Car Parking: best practice guidance for NHS Trusts in England", which looks at what measures trusts can adopt when developing travel plans. In addition, it can be used to facilitate discussions with local planning authorities.

Hospitals (Catering/Parking)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the Steamplicity catering pilot at the Charing Cross hospital.

Jane Kennedy: No assessment of the Steamplicity catering pilot at Charing Cross hospital has been made by the Department of Health. The pilot scheme is being undertaken via the hospital's external contract provider of facilities services and a cost-benefit assessment is due to be published by them in the near future.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many agency staff were employed by the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust in each of the last three years, broken down by type of job; and what the cost was in each year.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the number of bank and locum staff employed within the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust in the last three years.
	
		NHS Hospital, Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services: Medical and Dental and Non-Medical staff within Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust by grade and main staff group as at 30 September each specified year
		
			 Number (headcount) 
			  2002 2003 2004 
			  Total staff Bank/ Locum Total staff Bank/ Locum Total staff Bank/Locum 
		
		
			 Medical and Dental Staff 603 21 664 35 711 23 
			 Of which:   
			 Consultant 208 1 234 3 246 4 
			 Registrar Group 106 17 114 31 154 14 
			 Senior House Officer 165 3 193 1 201 5 
			 Other Staff 124 0 123 0 110 0 
			
			 Total Non-Medical Staff 5,864 131 6,277 144 6,548 151 
			
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 2,963 54 3,150 55 3,258 39 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 2,292 54 2,399 55 2,466 39 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 671 0 751 0 792 0 
			 Qualified allied health professionals 273 0 297 0 331 0 
			 Qualified healthcare scientists n/a 0 278 0 294 0 
			 Other qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 398 0 176 0 167 0 
			
			 Support to clinical staff 2,172 77 2,116 89 2,260 112 
			 Support to doctors and nurses 1,769 77 1,653 89 1,755 112 
			 Support to ST& T 403 0 463 0 505 0 
			
			 NHS infrastructure support 729 0 1,011 0 1,030 0 
			 Central functions 239 0 495 0 527 0 
			 Hotel, property and estates staff 329 0 342 0 369 0 
			 Managers and senior managers 161 0 174 0 134 0 
		
	
	n/a = Not applicable
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre Medical and Dental Workforce Census

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average and (b) longest wait for urgent breast cancer referrals at the Hull Royal Infirmary was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Information is not available in the format requested. In the period April to June 2005 100 per cent. of urgent breast cancer referrals to Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust were seen within two weeks of the referral by the general practitioner.

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints were made against the Hull Royal Infirmary in each year since 1997; and how many related to (a) clinical negligence, (b) waiting times, (c) tidiness/repair of hospital facilities, (d) staff and (e) other matters.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Complaints statistics for 2002–03 and 2003–04 are available at trust level and can be accessed through the Department's website at: www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/data_requests/nhs_complaints.htm.

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have (a) contracted and (b) died from hospital acquired infections at the Hull Royal Infirmary in each year since figures have been available.

Liam Byrne: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows the number of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia reports from April 2001 to March 2005 1 for the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust.
	
		
			  Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed days 
		
		
			 April 2001 to March 2002 106 0.26 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 75 0.18 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 102 0.23 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 90 (26)0.21 
		
	
	(26) Provisional as final activity data to be confirmed.
	Source:
	Mandatory MRSA blood stream infections surveillance system
	Data for years prior to 2001 on the trust's MRSA bacteraemia rates (by number of reports and rate per 1,000 bed days) are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics.
	It is not possible to give reliable figures on the number of deaths involving hospital-acquired infections at the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital NHS Trust from routinely collected mortality data. This is because, as elsewhere, information on where the infection was acquired may not be available to the doctor certifying the death.

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private patients have been treated at Hull Royal Infirmary in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information for the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust and its preceding organisations is shown in the table.
	
		Count of finished consultant episodes for selected providers of treatment (private patients treated in NHS hospitals)NHS hospitals in England, 1997–98 to 2003–04
		
			 Selected providers Finished consultant episodes 
		
		
			 1997–98  
			 Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust 89 
			 East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 469 
			 Total 558 
			   
			 1998–99  
			 Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust 65 
			 East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 487 
			 Total 552 
			   
			 1999–2000  
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 482 
			   
			 2000–01  
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 392 
			   
			 2001–02  
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 431 
			   
			 2002–03  
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 415 
			   
			 2003–04  
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 321 
		
	
	Notes:
	Finished consultant episode (FCE): An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is, the data is ungrossed.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre.q

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services the Hull Royal Infirmary offers for lung cancer patients.

Liam Byrne: The Hull Royal Infirmary offers treatment to emergency lung cases and a full lung cancer service is provided by the Castle Hill Hospital, also within the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service trust.
	Source:
	The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were admitted to the Hull Royal Infirmary with coronary heart disease in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information for the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust and its preceding organisations is shown in the table.
	
		Count of finished admission episodes for selected providers of treatment where primary diagnosis is coronary heart disease in NHS hospitals in England, 1997–98 to 2003–04
		
			 Selected providers Year Finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust 1997–98 1,364 
			 East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1997–98 2,003 
			 Total 1997–98 3,367 
			
			 Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust 1998–99 2,022 
			 East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1998–99 2,195 
			 Total 1998–99 4,217 
			
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1999–2000 3,927 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2000–01 3,541 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2001–02 3,064 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2002–03 4,300 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2003–04 4,089 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Finished admission episodes:
	A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	2. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis):
	The primary diagnosis is the first up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	3. Ungrossed data:
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is, the data are ungrossed.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social care Information Centre

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the target patient transport times are at the Hull Royal Infirmary in relation to children's intensive care; and whether the target was met in the last period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust is part of the regional paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) based at Leeds. The Hull Royal Infirmary has two intensive care unit (ICU) beds for children and therefore does not transfer children to the regional unit at Leeds. As such, there is no target patient transfer time for this group of patients.
	Source:
	The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there is a children's nurse consultant on site at the Hull Royal Infirmary 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Liam Byrne: The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service trust does not employ a children's nurse consultant.
	Source:
	The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent nurses there were in critical care at the Hull Royal Infirmary in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows the total number of nurses employed by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust in the years 1997 to 2004.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified nurses in specified organisations as at 30 September each specified year
		
			 Full-time equivalent 
			   1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Total specified organisations(27)  1,855 1,874 1,841 1,820 1,880 1,960 2,047 2,108 
			 Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust RF2 1,355 1,347 1,328 — — — — — 
			 East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust RF3 500 527 513 — — — — — 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWA — — — 1,820 1,880 1,960 2,047 2,108 
		
	
	'—'not applicable
	(27) Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust merged in 2000 to become Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
	Note:
	Full time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number
	Source:
	Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there is a trauma team on site at the Hull Royal Infirmary 24 hours a day.

Liam Byrne: A trauma team is provided on site at the Hull Royal Infirmary 24 hours a day.
	Source:
	The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the admission level in the Accident and Emergency Department at Hull Royal Infirmary was in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information for the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust and its preceding organisations is shown in the table.
	
		NHS hospitals in England, 1997–98 to 2003–04
		
			 Selected providers Year Finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust 1997–98 17,142 
			 East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1997–98 632 
			 Total 1997–98 17,774 
			
			 Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust 1998–99 19,100 
			 East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1998–99 917 
			 Total 1998–99 20,017 
			
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1999–2000 20,103 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2000–01 17,144 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2001–02 20,523 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2002–03 26,978 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2003–04 28,649 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Count of finished admission episodes for selected providers of treatment and for selected methods of admission:
	Emergency (via accident and emergency (A and E) services including the casualty department of the provider.
	Emergency (other means, including patients who arrive via A and E department of another healthcare provider.
	2. Finished admission episodes:
	A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	3. Ungrossed data:
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is, the data are ungrossed.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State forHealth what (a) current projects, (b) equipment and (c) facilities at the Hull Royal Infirmary have been paid for by, or receive funding from, charitable organisations.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally.

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancelled operations there were at the Hull Royal Infirmary in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information is not available in the format requested. However, information relating to the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust is shown in the table.
	
		Last minute cancelled operations for non-clinical reasons at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital Trust
		
			  Number of last minute cancelled operations 
		
		
			 March 2002 301 
			 March 2003 249 
			 March 2004 222 
			 March 2005 333 
			 September 2005 146 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data are not collected for individual hospitals. Data were collected by health authority only prior to 2001–02. Trust level data were collected from 2001–02 onwards. September 2005 represents the latest data.
	2. A last minute cancellation is one that occurs on the day the patient was due to arrive, after they have arrived in hospital or on the day of their operation. For example, patients are to be admitted to hospital on a Monday for an operation scheduled for the following day (Tuesday). If the hospital cancels their operation for non-clinical reasons on the Monday then this would count as a last minute cancellation. This includes patients who have not actually arrived in hospital and have been telephoned at home prior to their arrival.
	3. An operation which is rescheduled to a time within 24 hours of the original scheduled operation should be recorded as a postponement and not as a cancellation. The quarterly monitoring cancelled operations (QMCO) collection does not record the number of postponements.
	4. Some common non-clinical reasons for cancellations by the hospital include: ward beds unavailable; surgeon unavailable; emergency case needing theatre; theatre list over-ran; equipment failure; administrative error; anaesthetist unavailable; theatre staff unavailable; and critical care bed unavailable.
	Source:
	Department of Health dataset QMCO

Immunotoxicologists

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Department has to advance medical toxicology in the UK, with specific regard to the employment of immunotoxicologists.

Caroline Flint: The Department is in touch with the Royal College of General Practitioners with a view to improving the training in toxicology provided for general practitioners. Contacts between the Department and leading United Kingdom clinical toxicologists have led to questions in this area being included in the Membership examination of the Royal College of Physicians. Officials from the Department have served on committees of the British Toxicology Society and the Royal College of Pathologists group that administers the diploma in toxicology. The Department has funded research in toxicology and with the aid of Chief Medical Officer's expert advisory committees has published reports and reviews in the field.
	The Department has not focused specifically on immunotoxicology, although Professor Stephen Holgate, Medical Research Council's Professor of Immuno-pharmacology at Southampton Medical School, is a member of the Committee on the Medical effects of Air Pollutants and has been influential in drawing questions in the immuno-toxicology area to the Department's attention.

In-vitro Fertilisation

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on in-vitro fertilisation treatment in each primary care trust in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: Information about primary care trusts' expenditure on in-vitro fertilisation is not collected centrally. The primary responsibility for the provision of these services rests with the national health service at local level.

Isle of Wight Ambulance Service

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many violent incidents there have been involving staff of the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service in the course of their duties in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 5 December 2005
	The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		National health service hospital and community health services: recorded violent incidents for Hampshire Ambulance Services NHS Trust for each specified year
		
			  Number of incidents 
		
		
			 2000–01 168 
			 2001–02 81 
			 2002–03 75 
		
	
	Notes:
	Covers 1 April to 31 March for the specified years.
	This data was discontinued in 2003.
	Source:
	Survey of violence, accidents, harassments in the NHS

IT Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many IT projects which cost over £1 million and were introduced since 1997 are in use in her Department.

Liam Byrne: The Department has delivered 11 such information technology projects since 1997 and of these, 11 are still in use.

Local Authority Wards

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the percentage of local authority wards in the area principally served by each NHS acute hospital trust in England which are not in the most deprived 10 per cent. of local authority wards.

Caroline Flint: The information is not available in the format requested.

Maladministration

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many payments for maladministration have been made by (a) her Department, (b) its agencies, (c) its non- departmental public bodies and (d) other bodies for which her Department has responsibility in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: It is the policy of the Department, its agencies, non-departmental public bodies and, where appropriate, its sponsored organisations to make financial redress in accordance with the guidance set out in Chapter 18.7 and Annexes 18.1 and 18.2 of Government Accounting".
	The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		Numbers of maladministration cases for which financial redress was made
		
			 Department of Health 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Department — — — — — 
			 Agencies — 1 — — — 
			 Non departmental public bodies — — 1 — — 
			 Bodies sponsored by Department — — — — — 
			 National health service bodies: total 3 22 31 63 58 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. 2004–05 NHS figures do not include data from NHS foundation trusts.
	2. NHS bodies (health authorities, strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and NHS trusts) follow the guidance in para, (e) of Annex 2 of Chapter 5 of the relevant Manual for Accounts, which adapts elements of the Government Accounting Guidance to be applicable to the NHS.
	Sources:
	Department of Health Annual Reports on Losses and Special Payments
	Audited summarisation forms of the health authorities 2000–01 to 2001–02
	Audited summarisation forms of the strategic health authorities 2002–03 to 2004–05
	Audited summarisation schedules of the primary care trusts 2000–01 to 2004–05
	Audited summarisation schedules of the NHS trusts 2000–01 to 2004–05

Medical Care Practitioners

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to initiate training courses for medical care practitioners; on what date she expects medical care practitioners to start work in the NHS; and what estimate she has made of the number of medical care practitioners who will be working in the NHS in 2010.

Liam Byrne: It is for local employers to decide how many medical care practitioners they may wish to employ and when to start the requisite training. There has been no central estimation of the 2010 medical care practitioner work force.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's performance in assessing applications for new marketing authorisations.

Jane Kennedy: All applications for new marketing authorisations made to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) under the European licensing procedures are being assessed well within the statutory timelines. The MHRA continues to assess new active substance applications with a mean assessment time of less than 40 days. However, it is acknowledged that performance with regard to the assessment of national abridged applications is currently below MHRA norms. This is due to a combination of reasons. As a result of new European requirements regarding the format of applications, the MHRA experienced a surge in applications in 2003 resulting in a backlog of applications to be processed. This, coupled with some difficulties in recruiting appropriate professional assessment staff as a result of market forces and the recent introduction of Sentinel, the MHRA's new information management system, has had an adverse effect on MHRA's overall efficiency in this area. Steps are currently in progress to actively address these issues, including a recent successful recruitment campaign, overtime exercises and the implementation of a range of steps to improve efficiency.

Mobile Communications

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the contribution made by mobile communications to the NHS and other health professionals in Greater London in terms of (a) achieving savings and (b) the provision of improved services to NHS users; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Department is currently undertaking a strategic review of assistive technology. The potential for mobile and other technologies, including text messaging services, to help keep individuals out of acute or institutional care where appropriate and to help individuals or professionals manage long term conditions will be assessed as part of that review.
	The Department has contracted to provide digital radio communication systems for ambulance trusts in England. This should save money compared to trusts holding individual contracts for the same services. It will also bring further benefits in terms of higher quality communications, standardisation and interoperability between ambulance services and with other emergency services.

North Yorkshire Area Health Authority

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were employed by North Yorkshire area health authority in 1997; and how many are employed in (a) York and Selby primary care trust, (b) Hambleton and Richmondshire primary care trust and (c) Harrogate and Craven primary care trust.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Hospital, public health medicine and community health services (HCHS): medical and dental staff(28), non-medical staff, general medical practitioners (excluding retainers)(29) and practice staff(30), within the specified health authority(31) and organisations(32)
		
			 Numbers (headcount) 
			  1997 2004 
		
		
			 North Yorkshire health authority 14,111 — 
			 HCHS medical and dental staff(28) 593 n/a 
			 General medical practitioners (excluding retainers)(29) 493 n/a 
			 Practice staff(30) 2,108 n/a 
			 HCHS non-medical staff 10,917 n/a 
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 5,185 n/a 
			 Support to clinical staff 3,358 n/a 
			 NHS infrastructure support 2,316 n/a 
			 Other and unknown 58 n/a 
			 Craven, Harrogate and rural district primary care trust n/a 1,574 
			 HCHS medical and dental staff(28) n/a 20 
			 General medical practitioners (excluding retainers)(29) n/a 173 
			 Practice staff(30) n/a 550 
			 HCHS non-medical staff n/a 831 
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff n/a 434 
			 Support to clinical staff n/a 285 
			 NHS infrastructure support n/a 112 
			 Other and unknown n/a 0 
			 Hambleton and Richmondshire primary care trust n/a 1,212 
			 HCHS medical and dental staff(28) n/a 49 
			 General medical practitioners (excluding retainers)(29) n/a 84 
			 Practice staff(30) n/a 315 
			 HCHS non-medical staff n/a 764 
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff n/a 424 
			 Support to clinical staff n/a 169 
			 NHS infrastructure support n/a 171 
			 Other and unknown n/a 0 
			 Selby and York primary care trust n/a 2,790 
			 HCHS medical and dental staff(28) n/a 42 
			 General medical practitioners (excluding retainers)(29) n/a 216 
			 Practice staff(30) n/a 676 
			 HCHS non-medical staff n/a 1,856 
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff n/a 978 
			 Support to clinical staff n/a 639 
			 NHS infrastructure support n/a 229 
			 Other and unknown n/a 10 
		
	
	n/a = data not applicable.
	(28) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are also GPs working part time in hospitals.
	(29) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers) includes contracted GPs, CMS others, PMS others and GP registrars. Prior to September 2004 this group included GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, GP registrars, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	(30) Practice staff includes practice nurses, direct patient care, admin and clerical and other.
	(31) There is no health authority area data available for 2004. Health authorities were superseded by strategic health authorities in 2002.
	(32) There is no PCT data available in 1997 as PCTs were first introduced in 2000.
	Note:
	Data as at 30 September each year, except GP and practice staff data as at 1 October 1997.
	Sources:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre Medical and Dental Workforce Census
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census 2004
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Obesity

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance her Department has given to general practitioners to reduce obesity among their patients; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The quality and outcomes framework specifically rewards general practitioners (GPs) for delivering evidence based care to patients with chronic diseases which may involve weight management interventions to tackle obesity.
	In order to support GPs in reducing obesity we are developing a variety of tools such as the obesity care pathway, a Weight Loss Guide and a short patient activity questionnaire. Also, together with the Countryside Agency, we have already piloted the use of pedometers as a motivational tool in general practice to increase patients' levels of physical activity.
	The National Institute for Health Clinical Excellence (NICE) provided guidelines for anti-obesity drugs and surgery in 2001 and has been commissioned to prepare definitive guidance on the prevention, identification, management and treatment of obesity, due for publication in 2007. NICE guidance will include an assessment of four commonly used methods to increase physical activity: brief interventions in primary care, pedometers, exercise referral schemes and community based exercise programmes for walking and cycling.

Obesity

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of children likely to suffer from obesity over the next 10 years.

Caroline Flint: The prevalence of obesity in children aged two to 10 years increased from 9.6 per cent. in 1995 to 13.7 per cent. in 2003. The British Medical Association estimates that one in five boys and one in three girls will be obese by 2020, as stated in the recent schools' White Paper. In 2004, the Government adopted a public service agreement (PSA) target
	to halt, by 2010, the year-on-year increase in obesity among children under 11 in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole."
	This PSA target is held jointly by the Department, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Obesity

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the efficacy of identifying and managing obesity in children in a primary care setting.

Caroline Flint: The Department asked the Health Development Agency (HDA) to review the evidence of prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity. In 2003, HDA concluded that there is supporting evidence for the need to improve the role of health professionals especially general practitioners in the primary care setting in the management of obesity and overweight.
	In addition, the Department has commissioned the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to prepare a definitive guidance on the prevention, identification, management and treatment of obesity, which will be published after full consultation in 2007. Meanwhile, to support local monitoring of obesity among children, the Department plans to issue guidance to primary care trusts on measurement of height and weight in primary school age children. This guidance will provide advice to primary care trusts on how to measure height and weight of children between five to 11 years.

Oesophageal Cancer

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the MCM5 test being trialled at the Freeman hospital in Newcastle; and when it will be brought into regular use in the NHS.

Liam Byrne: The Department meets the service costs of research commissioned by its research partners that takes place in the national health service. The funding allocated for this purpose supports a substantial body of health research, including Cancer Research UK's trial of the MCM5 test for bladder and prostate cancer.
	The trial at the Freeman hospital in Newcastle is expected to involve 3,000 patients and is not due to finish until 2006. At this stage it is not possible to speculate on when the test might be introduced on a regular basis into the NHS as the results from the trial will require in depth analysis.

Parliamentary Questions

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will answer questions (a) 26323, (b) 26321 and (c) 26322 tabled by the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon on 3 November.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 23 November 2005, Official Report, column 2116W, and on 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 254W, and to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under Secretary of State with responsibility for Care Services, on 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 497W.

Pesticides

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will conduct a population biomonitoring programme which includes pesticides.

Caroline Flint: The Department does not currently have any specific plans to conduct a population biomonitoring programme, although it is having discussions with the Health Protection Agency on the feasibility of biomonitoring projects for chemical contaminants that includes pesticides. The Health Protection Agency is currently carrying out a scoping study, which will ascertain what biomonitoring programmes are currently underway in the United Kingdom.

Pesticides

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when (a) the Health Protection Agency and (b) her Department will establish a public health toxicology service to deal with chemical issues; and whether it will include pesticides.

Caroline Flint: The United Kingdom's National Poisons Information Service, commissioned by the Health Protection Agency, provides advice on potential cases of poisoning to medical practitioners. The service does not provide advice to the public, although it is recognised that systems in other European countries do provide this service. Advice to the public on what to do in suspected cases of poisoning is available from NHS Direct.

Pesticides

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the recent oral evidence from the Department to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, what the evidential basis was for the statement that pesticide use has not increased.

Caroline Flint: The statement that pesticide usage has not increased, made by a Departmental official while giving oral evidence to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, was based on evidence provided in the National Statistics, Pesticide Usage Survey Report 202 on Arable Crops in Great Britain 2004", which is available on the Central Science Laboratory's (CSL) website at www.csl.gov.uk/science/organ/pvm/puskm/arable2004.pdf and on the National Statistics, Pesticide Usage Survey Report 195 on Outdoor Vegetable Crops in Great Britain 2003", also available on CSL's website at www.csl.gov.uk/science/organ/pvm/puskm/outdoorveg2003.pdf.
	These show that although areas treated may have increased, the amounts used have generally declined.

Pesticides

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ask the Pesticides Safety Directorate to commission research on the bystander impact of pesticide use.

Caroline Flint: The Department will be contributing to the Government response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's report, Crop Spraying and the Health of Residents and Bystanders", which is being co-ordinated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This is likely to include the commission of new research but details are yet to be decided. Departmental officials have been discussing with the pesticides safety directorate issues of common interest with respect to the report.

Physical Activity

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has held with professional rugby clubs about developing community rugby programmes to tackle obesity and increase participation in physical activity; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: We are keen to encourage both rugby codes to work in partnership with local authorities, primary care trusts and other local partners to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles in the community.
	I attended an event to disseminate the results of the Professional Rugby in the Community Consultation" and showcase some of the excellent community work being undertaken by premier rugby clubs, which was hosted by Premier Rugby Ltd. on 9 November 2005.
	Premier Rugby Ltd. were invited to give a presentation setting out professional rugby's commitment to community development at the first of the regional sport and health seminars organised on behalf of the Department on 25 November 2005 in Leeds, at which I also spoke.
	Prior to these events my officials met with representatives of Premier Rugby Ltd. to discuss how professional rugby clubs and the national health service might work together at a local level to increase physical activity and tackle obesity.

Pressure Ulcers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether she plans to monitor adherence to the clinical guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on pressure ulcer management, published in September; and what plans she has to monitor the uptake of vacuum assisted closure technologies as recommended by the guidance;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of vacuum assisted closure machines in treating open wounds;
	(3)  what steps she is taking to prevent pressure ulcers in NHS hospitals.

Liam Byrne: Clinical guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) are recommendations on the appropriate treatment and care of people with specific diseases and conditions within the national health service. They are based on the best available evidence. Guidelines help health professionals in their work, but they do not replace their knowledge and skills.
	We have no plans to monitor the uptake of vacuum-assisted closure technologies as the NICE guidance stated that the findings on the effectiveness of such technology must be viewed with extreme caution due to limited trial-based evidence.
	The Department has made no assessment on the effectiveness of vacuum assisted closure machines in treating open wounds.
	Reducing the incidence of pressure sores in hospitals is tackled locally through the development and implementation of individualised plans for prevention and treatment agreed and delivered by a multidisciplinary team working with patients and their carers.

Primary Care Trusts

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether decisions by primary care trusts to divest themselves of service provision will be based on the results of the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say" consultation.

Liam Byrne: Any move away from direct provision of services will be a decision for the local national health service within the framework set out in the forthcoming White Paper, Your Health, Your Care, Your Say", and after local consultation. We will support primary care trusts (PCTs) who want to do that, but we will not instruct PCTs to do it, nor will we impose any timetable. What matters is getting the best services for each community—and that is what the White Paper will focus on.

Primary Care Trusts

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the salary is of the chief executive of each Cheshire primary care trust; and what estimate she has made of the likely cost of their redundancy packages.

Liam Byrne: This information is not held centrally. However, Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority advises that salaries of primary care trust chief executives are already in the public domain via annual reports. No final decisions regarding the reconfiguration of primary care trusts, under 'Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS', have been made.

Private Patients

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the share of NHS provision for private patients has been as a percentage of the total private medical market in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not collect the information requested.

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has (a) to change staffing levels in national pulmonary arterial hypertension centres in England and (b) to increase the number of such centres.

Liam Byrne: There are no plans to increase the number of specialist centres for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in England. It is for health professionals in the existing seven centres to decide on the appropriate staffing levels needed to achieve the national service standards for PH, as set by the national specialist commissioning advisory group.

School Nurses

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether school nurses are permitted to sign prescriptions for contraceptives for minors without parental knowledge; and if she will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	Health professionals, including school nurses, can provide contraception to young people under 16, provided they are satisfied that the young person is competent to fully understand the implications of any treatment and to make a choice of the treatment involved. When doing so, school nurses work under medical supervision through Patient Group Directions—a written instruction for the supply or administration of medicines to groups of patients, without an individualised doctor's prescription.
	Health professionals work within an established legal framework, which involves assessing the young person's competence to understand the choices they are making. A young person's request for confidentiality is respected unless there are child protection issues. However, health professionals should always encourage the young person to talk to their parents.

Sexual Health

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she takes to monitor the use of funding allocated to primary care trusts to improve sexual health services following the publication of the Choosing Health White Paper in November 2004.

Caroline Flint: Primary care trusts will receive funding for implementing the targets in the Choosing Health White Paper in their mainstream allocations and we will be monitoring the outcomes from this investment. In particular, the progress towards targets to reduce the level of new infections of gonorrhoea, to ensure patients have access to genito-urinary medicine clinics within 48 hours by 2008 and numbers of screens undertaken in the Chlamydia screening programme. These improved performance measures, should significantly strengthen the incentive for local investment and service modernisation.
	In addition, a letter has been sent by the Department to strategic health authority chief executives highlighting that when considering any savings from implementing Commissioning a patient led NHS", savings should not be identified from those posts working on implementation of Choosing Health. This includes posts in frontline services.

Smoking/Alcohol

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women have smoked during pregnancy in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: The data are not available in the exact format as requested. The data which are presented is the most recent available.
	Information on smoking in pregnancy is obtained from the infant feeding survey, which is carried out every five years; the most recent survey was in 2000. The available information is shown in the table.
	
		Proportion of women who smoked throughout pregnancy, England, 1990, 1995, and 2000
		
			 Percentage 
			 Smoking prevalence 1990(33) 1995(34) 2000(34) 
		
		
			 Smoked during pregnancy 28 23 19 
			 Base number 5,413 4,956 (35)4,921 
		
	
	(33) Data for 1990 relate to Great Britain.
	(34) The results from the 1995 and 2000 surveys are not directly comparable, since some of the smoking questions on the questionnaire were revised in 2000 to improve the reliability of the results.
	(35) The base for 2000 excludes 200 mothers who did not supply sufficient information for their smoking status to be classified.
	Sources:
	Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, Infant Feeding Survey 1990
	Office for National Statistics, Infant Feeding Survey 1995
	BMRB Infant Feeding Survey 2000, which is available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/05/97/63/04059763.pdf

Smoking/Alcohol

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidences of (a) smoking and (b) alcohol-related conditions were treated in (i) 1998 and (ii) the most recent year for which information is available; what the cost of treatment was in each year; and what estimate the Government have made of the costs to the economy.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 5 December 2005
	The information is not available in the form requested.
	The latest estimates, published in 2004 by the Health Development Agency in the document, The Smoking Epidemic" are that smoking kills around 86,500 people a year in England, one-fifth of all deaths.
	The latest data on the cost to the national health service of treating illness and disease caused by smoking is estimated to cost between £1.4 billion to £1.7 billion every year in terms of general practitioner visits, prescriptions, treatment and operations.
	Estimates of total cost to the economy are not available.
	The incidence of alcohol-related conditions treated are shown in the table.
	
		Count of finished consultant episodes for selected alcohol related diseases NHS hospitals: England, data year 1998–99 and 2003–04
		
			 Primary diagnosis 1998–99 2003–04 
		
		
			 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol 35,947 38,101 
			 Alcoholic liver disease 13,689 21,001 
			 Toxic effect of alcohol 2,130 1,591 
			 Total 51,765 60,693 
		
	
	Notes:
	Finished consultant episode (FCE)
	An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	Diagnosis (primary diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	Grossing
	Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2003–04, which is not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
	Source:
	Hospital episode statistics, health and social care information centre
	It was estimated that the cost to the NHS in 2000–01 to be at a middle range of £1.5 billion.
	The Prime Ministers strategy unit's interim analysis for the alcohol harm reduction strategy for England estimated that the overall cost of alcohol misuse was £20 billion a year.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Antisocial Behaviour (Hedges)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many orders to remove hedges have been made by local councils in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire, under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 5 December 2005
	Under section 69(3) of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, local councils cannot order action involving the removal of a high hedge. Information on notices requiring remedial works to hedges, issued under the 2003 Act, is not collected centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Antisocial Behaviour (Hedges)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with local councils about the workings of the high hedges provisions in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 5 December 2005
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has held no formal discussions with local councils about the workings of the high hedges provisions in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, which came into force in June 2005. The Government are committed to a formal review of this legislation after it has been in operation for five years.

Antisocial Behaviour (Hedges)

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the average costs to the complainant of making a complaint to a local authority relating to high hedges; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published the 'Regulatory Impact Assessment: High Hedges—Implementing Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003' on 23 March 2005. It contains estimates of the costs to complainants of making a complaint to a local authority about a high hedge. Copies of the Regulatory Impact Assessment are available in the House Library.
	The Regulatory Impact Assessment was prepared before the legislation came into operation in June 2005. Information on the fees being charged by local authorities for dealing with high hedges complaints is not collected centrally.

Asset Register

Anne Main: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 30th November 2005, Official Report, column 581W, on the asset register, what documents his officials work from when assessing the assets of his Department.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The document officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister work from when assessing the ODPM's assets is the central ODPM's Asset Register which is held on its electronic accounting system SAP. This records all assets that cost over £5,000 and are held for use on a continuing basis. Third party invoices and professional valuations are the supporting documents used by officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to establish asset values on the Asset Register. The accounting system automatically calculates both increases and decreases in asset values due to indexation, and the monthly depreciation charge, according to parliamentary and HM Treasury guidelines.

Bus Services (Stoke Orchard)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he made of bus services attending Stoke Orchard, Gloucestershire when objecting to this aspect of Tewkesbury borough council's local plan; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 6 December 2005
	As part of the assessment process of the Tewkesbury local plan, information from both Tewkesbury borough council and the bus service operators in the area was obtained in respect of the allocation at Stoke Orchard. This information was taken into account in my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister the First Secretary of State's decision to direct Tewkesbury borough council to delete the policy relating to the site allocation at Stoke Orchard from the Tewkesbury borough local plan.
	It was my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, the First Secretary of State's view that this policy was inconsistent with PPG3, PPS7, PPG13 and RPG10 and would lead to a greater dispersal of development, exacerbating unsustainable patterns of commuting.

Designated Growth Areas

Anne Main: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the local delivery partners in (a) the Milton Keynes growth area and (b) each other designated growth area.

Yvette Cooper: The Local Delivery Vehicles established in Milton Keynes South Midlands to cover individual areas are: Milton Keynes Partnerships Committee; Aylesbury Vale Advantage; Renaissance Bedford; West Northamptonshire Development Corporation; and North Northants Together.
	The Local Delivery Vehicles established in London Stansted Cambridge Peterborough are: Cambridgeshire Horizons; and Opportunity Peterborough.
	The Regeneration Partnerships established in Thames Gateway to cover individual areas are: London Thames Gateway Development Corporation; Basildon Renaissance; Renaissance Southend; Thurrock UDC; Medway Renaissance Partnership; Swale Forward; and Kent Thameside Delivery Board.
	The Local Delivery Vehicle for Ashford is Ashford's Future.

Fire Services

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) back-up facilities and (b) secondary sites are available for each fire regional control centre; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The nine regional control centres will be part of an integrated network. In exceptionally busy periods, or in the worst case in the event of the failure of one centre, others in the network will be able immediately to take over answering calls and sending vehicles to incidents. Consequently, there is no need for secondary sites. To minimise the risk of the failure of one regional control centre, each has been designed so that there are no single points of failure in the system; for example, all the new centres will have two generators.

Homelessness

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of homeless people in (a) Southend, (b) Essex, (c) Greater London and (d) England in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: Information about English local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly and is in respect of households rather than people. The number of households accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need for the past five financial years, and the number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by local authorities under homelessness legislation as at 31 March of each year, is listed in the following table for Southend-on-Sea, Essex, Greater London and England. For corresponding information about Welsh authorities, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
	After being accepted as homeless, a household will be placed in some form of accommodation. They may be placed in temporary accommodation, until a settled solution becomes available, or they may be given a settled solution straight away depending on the accommodation available to the local authority. As an alternative to temporary accommodation an authority may arrange for a household to remain in their current accommodation (homeless at home), until a settled solution becomes available.
	Information is also collected on the number of people who sleep rough, that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night. The following table also shows the number of persons sleeping rough on a single night of each year.
	
		Households accepted(36) as homeless during the year, households in temporary accommodation at the end of the year,and numbers of rough sleepers
		
			 Households 
			  Accepted during 2000–01 In TA(37) at end March 2001 Rough sleepers(38) (persons) 2000 Accepted during 2001–02 In TA(37) at end March 2002 Rough sleepers(38) (persons) 2001 
		
		
			 Southend-on-Sea 121 161 16 157 121 1 
			 Essex(39) 2,922 1,937 0 2,891 2,424 0 
			 Greater London 29,710 42,620 546 29,320 46,390 357 
			 England 114,670 75,200 1,180 116,660 80,210 703 
		
	
	
		
			  Accepted during 2002–03 In TA2 at end March 2003 Rough sleepers3 (persons) 2002 Accepted during 2003–04 In TA2 at end March 2004 Rough sleepers3 (persons) 2003 
		
		
			 Southend-on-Sea 230 175 1 n/a n/a 0 
			 Essex(39) 2,892 2,939 0 2,962 3,021 0 
			 Greater London 29,790 52,690 321 30,080 58,820 267 
			 England 128,540 89,040 596 135,430 97,680 504 
		
	
	
		
			  Accepted during 2004–05 In TA2 at end March 2005–12–08 Rough sleepers3 (persons) 2004 
		
		
			 Southend-on-Sea 236 207 0 
			 Essex(39) 2,406 2,987 2 
			 Greater London 26,730 61,990 265 
			 England 120,860 101,070 508 
		
	
	(36) All households eligible under homelessness legislation, found to be unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty, n/a denotes the authority failed to provide a return for one or more quarters of the year
	(37) Households in accommodation either pending a decision on their homelessness application or awaiting allocation of a settled home following acceptance. Excludes those households designated as homeless at home" that have remained in their existing accommodation and have the same rights to suitable alternative accommodation as those in accommodation arranged by the authority.
	Figures for Essex, London and England include ODPM estimates for any incomplete or missing P1E returns
	(38) Number of persons sleeping rough, based on local authority mid-year counts or estimates.
	(39) Essex comprises 12 district councils, and excludes the unitary authorities of Southend on Sea and Thurrock
	Source:
	ODPM P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly) and HSSA returns (annual)

Housing

James Duddridge: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Government will publish its final response to the Barker Review of housing supply; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 2 December 2005
	The Government's initial response to Kate Barker's report was provided by my right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Deputy Prime Minister alongside the Budget on 17 March 2004. We published the full response on 5 December 2005.

Housing

Paul Burstow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many and what percentage of households in each London borough were on the housing register on 1 April.

Yvette Cooper: The number of households on the housing waiting list, and the percentage of total households that are on the housing waiting list, in each London borough, as at 1 April 2005, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Local authority Number of households on the housing register As a percentage of all households 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,321 3.5 
			 Barnet 13,627 10.2 
			 Bexley 4,528 5.0 
			 Brent 17,351 15.2 
			 Bromley 2,998 2.3 
			 Camden 16,532 17.0 
			 City of London 1,204 30.1 
			 Croydon 8,856 6.3 
			 Ealing 14,324 10.9 
			 Enfield 7,872 6.8 
			 Greenwich 7,666 8.2 
			 Hackney 7,744 8.4 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 8,384 9.9 
			 Haringey 19,930 19.9 
			 Harrow 4,944 5.8 
			 Havering 3,477 3.7 
			 Hillingdon 7,471 7.4 
			 Hounslow 10,382 11.5 
			 Islington 6,326 7.5 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 9,436 10.7 
			 Kingston upon Thames 4,903 7.7 
			 Lambeth 10,648 8.2 
			 Lewisham 18,279 16.2 
			 Merton 5,188 6.3 
			 Newham 25,317 26.1 
			 Redbridge 7,941 8.1 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4,898 6.1 
			 Southwark 7,548 6.5 
			 Sutton 3,724 4.8 
			 Tower Hamlets 21,183 24.1 
			 Waltham Forest 8,837 9.2 
			 Wandsworth 8,668 6.7 
			 Westminster 6,565 6.1 
			
			 London 309,072 9.6 
		
	
	Source:
	ODPM's Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA).
	Local authorities in England report the number of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Local authorities sometimes maintain a common waiting list with the housing association/s in their district. However, information is not held centrally where a housing association maintains a separate waiting list to the local authority.

Housing

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether (a) local authorities and (b) social services have responsibility for housing vulnerable people; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities have a number of responsibilities to provide accommodation and support for vulnerable people. These include:
	A duty under part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 for local housing authorities in England to ensure that suitable accommodation is available for people who are homeless through no fault of their own, if they are eligible for assistance and fall within a priority need group. (Priority need groups are as defined in section 189 of the 1996 Act and, additionally, in the Homelessness (Priority Need for Accommodation) (England) Order 2002.)
	A duty under part 6 of the Housing Act 1996 for local housing authorities to ensure, in allocating settled social housing, that 'reasonable preference' for an allocation goes to certain categories of people (including those who are homeless and those who need to move on medical or welfare grounds) who might be considered vulnerable.
	A duty under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 23(B) (8) (b) to promote the welfare of care leavers, aged 16–18, and to support them by providing them with or maintaining them in suitable accommodation. Local authorities have continuing responsibilities to support care leavers aged 18–21 which may also require them to offer support to enable this group to access suitable accommodation.
	A duty under section 20 (3) of the Children Act 1989 to accommodate any child in need aged 16 and 17 whose welfare is likely to be seriously prejudiced without the provision of accommodation. A child accommodated under this section, will become looked-after by the local authority.
	Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 also includes the power for the children's services function of local authorities to provide accommodation for families and children. The power to provide accommodation under this section will almost always concern children needing to be accommodated with their families.
	However, there may be cases where a lone child who needs help with accommodation, but who does not need to become a looked-after child, might appropriately be assisted under section 17. In these cases, the decision about whether or not a child should be accommodated by the local authority and the related decision as to whether he/she should become looked-after will be determined by the local authority's assessment of the child's needs in accordance with the statutory guidance set out in The framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families" published by the Government in April 2000.
	A power, and so far as directed by the Secretary of State for Health a duty, under sections 21 and 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948, for local authority social services to provide residential accommodation and certain other welfare services for people who are 'ordinarily resident' in the authority's area and who are in need of residential care. This includes a person with no settled residence or ordinarily resident elsewhere who is in urgent need of residential care.
	In single tier arrangements, these duties will fall to parts of the same local authority. In two-tier arrangements, the housing duties will fall to the lower tier authority and the social services duties will fall to the upper tier authority.
	While not a duty, upper tier authorities also provide housing-related support services for vulnerable adults through the Supporting People programme. These services are intended to support and assist people to maintain or move towards living independently.

Housing

James Duddridge: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to reduce the waiting lists for council housing in (a) Southend-on-Sea, (b) Essex and (c) England.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 1 December 2005
	In England in 2004–05, over 28,000 homes were provided for rent or low cost home ownership through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme. Of these, 544 were completed in Essex, of which 40 were completed in Southend-on-Sea Unitary Authority.
	Sustainable Communities: Homes for All sets out the Government's plans to deliver more affordable housing over the next five years from 2005–06. Measures include the delivery of 75,000 social rented homes by 2008.
	For 2006–07 and 2007–08 Regional Housing Boards have made recommendations to Ministers for the allocation of Regional Housing Pots funds. The Eastern Regional Housing Board has recommended that from their allocation of £432 million for the two years a total of £356 million should be allocated to the provision of affordable housing. However, the exact distribution of funding between programmes for 2006–08 will not be known until the completion of the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme bidding process in early 2006.
	We are also making available £1.6 million this year to assist in the development of 15 sub-regionally based CBL schemes. The funding will support the development of the Herts and Essex Housing Options Consortium which will include Brentwood BC, Chelmsford BC, Epping Forest DC and Uttlesford DC.

Housing

Terry Rooney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to adopt innovative solutions to address household overcrowding in their area.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 6 December 2005
	The Government have doubled their investment in social housing from 1997 levels and the Housing Corporation has taken steps to encourage investment in larger homes through its National Affordable Housing programme. Against that background, it is for local authorities to develop housing strategies that give due weight to the needs of overcrowded households alongside the other housing needs in their area.

Housing

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister howmuch his Department has allocated for social housing in each constituency in Essex in each of the past 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: Information is not readily available for all of the funding allocations until 1999. A total of £626 million has been allocated for social housing in Essex from 1999 to 2005–06. This includes allocations for new build, improvements to existing stock and disabled facilities grants.

Housing

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of uninhabited homes in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) the Tees Valley and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.

Yvette Cooper: The estimated number of vacant dwellings in (a) England, (b) the Government Office for the North East region, (c) the Tees Valley and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland are tabled as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Total England 710,935 
			 The Government Office for the North East 45,732 
			 Tees Valley (comprising Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees unitary authorities) 10,962 
			 Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland unitary authorities which encompass the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency 5,058 
		
	
	The data are as at November 2004, the latest date for which estimates are available and were reported on CTB1 & CTB1S forms submitted by billing authorities to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister each year. The figure includes both long and short-term empty properties.
	The Government are introducing new powers from April 2006 for local authorities to reduce the number of long-term empty homes in their area.

Local Government Funding

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the net debt or reserves/surplus was for each local authority in England, including police and fire authorities, in (a) 1997–98 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Tables have been made available in the Library of the House showing levels of revenue reserves at 1 April 1997 and 1 April 2004 for each local authority in England.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities.

Mobile Telephone Masts

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new mobile telephone masts have been erected under permitted development rights in each year since 1997 in (a) Gravesham and (b) Kent.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 November 2005, Official Report, column 1066W to my hon. Friend, the Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham).

Planning

Michael Fallon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to publish proposals to amend the law on planning and Travellers.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 2 December 2005
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects to publish the new Planning Circular for Gypsies and Travellers, to replace DOE Circular 1/94 Gypsy Sites and Planning", early in the new year.

Private Landlords

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on housing of private landlords requiring a guarantor prior to agreeing a new tenancy; and whether he attributes this practice directly to the policy of paying housing benefit to tenants rather than directly to landlords.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 2 December 2005
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not made any detailed assessment of the implications for housing policy of the practice of some private landlords to seek a financial guarantor prior to agreeing a new tenancy. My understanding is that they would do so for tenants whose financial circumstances are unclear, for example—students as well as housing benefit claimants.
	The direct payment of housing benefit to tenants may have some impact. However, as we made clear earlier this year in 'Sustainable Communities: Homes for All', we are keen to improve access to the private rented sector for households who might otherwise face homelessness, through local authority schemes that provide rent deposits or the guarantees that private landlords seek, or which offer approved lettings with accredited landlords.

Private Landlords

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will conduct a survey of the number of local authorities reporting that private landlords require a guarantor before agreeing to a tenancy.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 2 December 2005
	Information from landlords or tenants on landlords seeking financial guarantors of tenants is not currently collected in the routine statistical surveys of housing. Local authorities are unlikely to offer a consistent view of this matter as it concerns the contractual relationship between landlord and tenant.
	However we will consider the case for collecting such information, along with other proposals for new research, as part of the development of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's analytical programme 2006–07. As reflected in the licensing provisions of the Housing Act 2004, we are keen that private landlords should seek references to provide some guarantees that their prospective tenants will not behave in an anti-social way.

Private Landlords

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) legislative and (b) other measures are in place to prevent private landlords discriminating against letting to tenants in receipt of housing benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Anti-discrimination legislation does not extend to the practice of refusing to let to benefit claimants and it would be impracticable to do so. However landlords often refuse to let to tenants on housing benefit because of the historical delays by local authorities in administering it. In 2002 the Government implemented a comprehensive strategy to improve delivery and now the average time taken to process new claims has been cut by over two weeks, with the greatest improvements seen in the poorest performing local authorities.
	We are keen to encourage greater use of the private rented sector for those in housing need and we have been exploring with local authorities good practice in this field. Access to the private rented sector can be improved for households who might otherwise face homelessness through local authority schemes that provide rent deposits or the rent guarantees that private landlords seek, or which offer approved lettings with accredited landlords as part of an expansion of arrangements for choice-based lettings.

Public Transport (Northamptonshire)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the evidential basis is for the assessment of the effectiveness of the anticipated modal shift to public transport in North Northamptonshire as outlined in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands sub-regional spatial strategy.

Yvette Cooper: One of the objectives of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands sub-regional spatial strategy is to create a shift to more sustainable modes of travel such as public transport. The strategy itself does not assess the detail of the modal shift.

Right to Buy

Terry Rooney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council homes in Bradford were sold under the Right to Buy scheme in each year since 1980.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 6 December 2005
	The numbers of council properties sold under the right-to-buy scheme by Bradford local authority in each financial year since 1979–80 as reported by Bradford are tabled as follows. There are no council sales after 2002–03 due to a large scale voluntary transfer.
	
		Bradford: right to buy sales.
		
			 Financial year RTB sales 
		
		
			 1979–80 0 
			 1980–81 1 
			 1981–82 453 
			 1982–83 624 
			 1983–84 399 
			 1984–85 250 
			 1985–86 387 
			 1986–87 310 
			 1987–88 0 
			 1988–89 351 
			 1989–90 1,545 
			 1990–91 1,151 
			 1991–92 419 
			 1992–93 288 
			 1993–94 206 
			 1994–95 218 
			 1995–96 147 
			 1996–97 126 
			 1997–98 169 
			 1998–99 151 
			 1999–2000 231 
			 2000–01 225 
			 2001–02 311 
			 2002–03 362 
		
	
	Source:
	Quarterly returns (P1B) to ODPM from local authorities.

Right to Buy

Terry Rooney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what amount of capital receipts has been generated from right to buy sales in Bradford in each year since 1980.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 6 December 2005
	The total capital receipts from right-to-buy sales of local authority dwellings in Bradford in the years from 1996–97 onwards are tabulated as follows. Information for years prior to 1996–97 is not centrally available. These figures are net of discounts and are as reported by the local authority. There was a large scale voluntary transfer in 2002–03.
	
		Bradford
		
			  Current prices (£ million) 
		
		
			 1996–97 2.2 
			 1997–98 2.9 
			 1998–99 2.6 
			 1999–2000 4.0 
			 2000–01 4.1 
			 2001–02 5.7 
			 2002–03 6.8 
		
	
	Source:
	Quarterly P1(A/B) return received from local authorities